Xandificer
by mongodatroll
Summary: YAHF. Xander ends up going as an Artificer from D&D fame. Naturally, between Janus and Cordy things just can't be easy though. Gender-Bending.
1. Chapter 1

Warning, this story has Gender-Bending. If that hurts your feelers, please know that bitching to me about it will get you severely mocked, because you were warned right now.

Obviously I do not own BtVS, if I owned it rather than dear old Joss Whedon this wouldn't be a fanfic. It'd be alternate canon or something.

I also don't own D&D either, WotC beat me to it but I'll tell you what, if I could have back all the money I ever spent on gaming crap from those people I am pretty damn sure I could retire tomorrow. (Slight exaggeration, but it sure feels that way.)

It has been explained to me that the amount of Cordelia in the story is insufficient to justify her inclusion in the summary. Even though everything in the summary is completely accurate. Anyway, be warned. While your favorite queen bee has a place in the following, it is not as a central figure.

And lastly, this is a re-post from the story I am working on over on 'Twisting the Hellmouth' under the name "Datatroll." If you like what you see here, there is a bunch more over there waiting for you and I am still going strong on it. It finally occurred to me after something like the fortieth person on TtH asked me for directions to my stories here that there might be those that would like to find me over there. So if you are interested, it awaits your perusal.

Xandificer.

Chapter 1

Really, Janus?!

The morning after Halloween, on the Hellmouth.

Xander awoke with pain all over being apparently the order of the day. Waking up in a ditch, he decides, is by far and away the most unpleasant way to do so that doesn't involve prison and a gent named Bubba. Making it even worse, this costume may have been the worst thing to be knocked unconscious in that he could ever even conceive of. It might not have been so bad if he'd left it alone after he lost the bet with Cordy. A witch outfit would have been embarrassing, but not too uncomfortable to sleep in he supposes. But he tried to "win" the bet after he'd already lost and added a few bits of armor and some steam-punky looking props that were designed to hide the fact that he was dressed as a girl. He even remembers smirking at her when she asked what the hell he was doing and he claimed to be an "Artificer." He figured he was pretty safe, what the heck would Cordelia Chase know about a character class from a role playing game?

It probably would have worked, too. But then that unholy bitch pulled the massive padded bra out from behind her back. So he spent the first part of the night desperately trying and failing to not be seen by anybody ever and getting mocked by the grade school kids that Snyder, the high school principal with an entire Napoleonic war behind his short mans syndrome, was making him lead around. The second half he spent being an Artificer, apparently. That part he doesn't remember nearly as clearly, aside from being in an unholy rage constantly for being defenseless without her toys.

Rolling haphazardly to his feet in the uneven ground of the ditch, he then immediately falls over again and lands on his face.

Which hurts. Actually, it hurts way more than it should, by all rights. His face is getting pricked by a very aggressive thistle, but the real problem is his chest. He must have landed on a rock or something. Plus his balance is completely screwball. Is he shorter?

Panic begins to set in. He must have been out all night, because in the gray light of very early morning he rolls over and touches his chest.

He finds a lot more chest than should be there. Like, a lot more. Porn star levels of more.

"Oh my god what the hell..." He stops talking when he realizes he doesn't recognize the voice. It's a girl's voice. The kind of voice one would expect to hear from a seventeen year old that lied about her age to get a gig as a phone sex operator. Obviously a female, quite breathy, perhaps just a little lower than average. The kind of voice that does the vocals in the Japanese skin flick animations that he totally has never seen and why would you ever think that a red blooded American... Girl. Would watch tentacle porn?

Oh god. Can she go home? Should she go home? Her parents won't believe this. Hell, they won't believe her when she says she needs twenty bucks for a school trip without calling the school, like they would ever believe this. She decides she has to go home, at least briefly. She needs clothes. Not that they'll fit her. She feels like she is about six inches shorter. Right around Buffy's height now.

Her second attempt at getting out of the ditch is much more successful and after removing the worthless high heels that Cordy so graciously offered with the costume she starts making headway home. She decides two things between the ditch and the house. The first being that she will never, ever, under any circumstances ever make another bet with Cordelia. The second is that high heeled shoes and underwire bras are undoubtedly spawned by the Hellmouth and need to be slain.

Getting in and out of the house is easier than she anticipated, mostly because the parental units are still sleeping off the case of cheap beer that was consumed last night.

Xander will admit to not being and expert, but she is reasonably certain that putting the word "light" before the word "beer" doesn't make drinking it turn you into a Jedi any more than the dark stuff would make you a Sith. So why anybody would drink the swill is completely beyond her.

A shower. Tears for what is lost. Giles has gotta fix this, please for the love of god.

Then the lofty goal of managing to get the bra back on because Oh boy. Holy crap. How in the fuck do these things work? What did Cordy have him do? Oh yeah. Put it on backward, flip it around, arms through the holes. There has got to be a better way to construct these things that doesn't involve a wire digging into your flesh all the damn time. She almost doesn't bother and then she sees herself in the mirror on the back of the door. Really looks for the first time.

Her hair is still dark, almost black. But now it goes down to the middle of her back. Shoulders are small, tits are ridiculous. Of course, whether or not they truly qualify as ridiculous she isn't even sure, because they aren't supposed to be there in the first place. To her, anything would have been too big. Her waist is slender, and toned, but no lady six-pack or anything. Hips are a tad spread. Not quite the hourglass that is seen in those cartoons that she never watched and you can't prove that she did but still quite nice. Nice legs. Maybe not a runners legs, but definitely somebody that is used to walking between five and fifteen miles by the end of every day.

Her hands and feet are tiny compared to what she is used to. She still feels strong, she doesn't think she has actually gotten any weaker, but she has no leverage or reach anymore. Keeps having to take an extra half step to make up for not being as close as she thinks she is to doors and stuff. It is unbelievably annoying. At least a five on the scale where the lack of a penis is a seventy-fucking-three.

She finishes getting dressed in a pair of sandals that she has to wear three pairs of socks with and punch new holes in the straps to cinch on, a pair of shorts that she ties off that now go down well past her knees, and a t-shirt that drapes over most of her and gives her a masturbation inspiring profile for the entire male half of the student body. Oh god. Make it stop please, just make it stop. Making it a point to load up her duffel and school bag with everything she actually cares about including the road trip fund which she is cringing at, because unless Giles can fix this like instantly, the chances are good that the road trip fund is going to be going the way of the dodo to pay for some portion of the current crisis. Then she makes her escape, wondering when if ever she will be able to go home.

When Giles walks into the library he is fairly shocked to see a student already in the room. Shocked because for one, the door was locked until he just opened it whoever this is they were sitting in the dark with their head against the table until he turned on the lights. Probably asleep. For two, well, it is an American child. In a library. Without being told to go there. The odds against are astonishingly high that this is an innocent circumstance.

However, the young woman who is currently turning towards him is sitting directly over the mouth to Hell, so rather than make assumptions Giles stands well back and voices his annoyance.

"How did you get in here, child? The door was locked for a reason."

Xander offers the closest approximation to a lopsided grin that she can manage through the tears. "Sorry G-man. There's an unlocked window in the back. I didn't figure that you would mind. You did say to come here for emergencies and..." She takes a moment to heft her breasts in her hands and jiggles them like she is trying to score free beer. "I figured that this might qualify. Maybe not 'end of the world' important, but it might be 'end of the Xander' important."

Giles shakes his head in astonishment and starts walking around Xander, who has stood up to be peered at. "Dear boy, what has happened to you? Is this connected with that ridiculous idiocy that was cast last night? That ill conceived Halloween prank that turned everyone into their costumes?"

Xander nods, almost getting a smile on his face. If the G-man knows what happened, he must have done something to stop it. "Yeah. Lost a bet with Cordy and had to go as a witch. She even supplied the stuffed bra to make my misery that extra bit epic. So, how do we fix this?"

Giles starts cleaning his glasses while staring down his nose at them. Knowing as she does the many moods of the Giles, Xander begins to panic a little. Glasses cleaning is never a good sign, and combined with the looking down it tends to end in a tragedy for somebody.

"Please, tell me that you can fix this, Giles. I'll take Bipity bopity and boo if you can fix this. Please."

Looking up at the stalwart young... Person. That has been backing his slayer through thick and thin, he cannot find it in his heart to lie. "Xander, the spell has already been broken. Chaos magic. Quite strong chaos magic at that. Focused through the god Janus specifically for this end."

Having turned to face Giles who is making his way towards the office, Xander doesn't see Buffy and Willow step into the library.

"Specifically for what end? For this?" Xander pokes her chest. "The freaking gods wanted to wreck my life by stripping my dick off and making me a midget with tits? What the hell kinda pervert gods are we dealing with here Giles?"

Then she hears something from behind her that makes her lower her head and turn around.

Willow looks like she is still hoping this is all a misunderstanding. "Xander? Oh my gosh Xander, is that really you?"

Looking out from behind hair that has fallen forward, he offers a sick smile and a half apology. "Umm... Maybe?"

Buffy frowns. "What do you mean maybe?"

Xander turns away slightly and cuts off the view of her face entirely. Then she steps forward and stands up straight so that all can see that she is almost exactly the same height as Buffy. "That depends on whether or not I am going to get beaten for that midget with tits crack. If I am, then I don't know any Xander and I am just a lost and scared mostly innocent victim of the Hellmouth. If I am not, and I can't even believe I am saying this right now, but if I am not I could really use a hug so bad right now you don't even know." With that, she slumps back down into her chair and after quickly looking at each other, Buffy and Willow take the chairs on either side of her and offer their support, such as it is, with hugs.

After a few minutes, Giles comes back out carrying a book with as well as a camping style spice rack. At his motioning hands, the girls step away and he takes a pinch of four different herbs, spreading them on his shoulders. Then he intones four different spells from the book.

Nothing happens.

Giles sets the book down while cleaning his glasses. Buffy starts to pale as well as Willow. Xander can't get any more pale.

"There is currently no magic on you to be dispelled. Whatever happened, whatever flaw is in the mix that forced you to stay in this form, it isn't something we can fix because while all three of you are, I am sure, doused in chaos magic, there is currently no active spell on you to get rid of."

Giles looks up from cleaning his glasses.

"I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do. I don't have the skill to change you back, I suspect that few on the planet would and most of those you would be unwise to trust in. What I can't figure out is why only you didn't change back. It makes little sense, as I find it very difficult to believe that the one who cast that spell harbors any grudge against you specifically."

As if it was waiting for the right moment to soar into the room, a small creature that is familiar only to Xander streaks in through the window that he had mistakenly left open. With the body of a ferret and the wings of a crow, two different taxidermy projects that her uncle Rory the taxidermist had given to her long ago and had since been bashed about in various ways as her father searched her room for beer money. Xander had carefully pulled the pieces apart and stitched the wings of one onto the other before the trick or treating last night, thinking that it would make for a very cool "Expeditious Messenger" Homunculus while he was out. She had thought it lost in the night, but it must have been doing whatever it was last tasked with. As soon as it touches her by landing on her shoulder, it rubs it's tiny face against her head with familiarity and then Xander hears in his mind.

'The dumb white haired vampire that you wished me to follow has nested in a warehouse near the docks. I do not believe that he can still move about, the sun is too high.'

Giles, Buffy, and Willow are staring at him gobsmacked as the mismatched little creature scampers about, exploring everything now that it has relayed it's message. Giles is the first to collect his thoughts and say anything.

"Xander, what is that thing? Buffy, do you sense it?"

Buffy shakes her head. "Nope. He's a cute little guy though. But right here on the Hellmouth it could be a whole demon conga line and I would only have a fifty-fifty shot of noticing anything wiggy."

Xander has been staring at her little pet, as the knowledge that it is here, and it works like it is supposed to opens up possibilities. "That is an Artificer's homunculus Giles, straight from the D&D role playing game. That particular one flies around to deliver messages and spy on things for me. I never would have believed it would actually work. But since it does..." She looks at Willow, the only other here that has ever played. She gives Xander a grin.

"Wicked cool, Xander. Wicked cool."

Authors Note:

I thought I might try my hand at a different take on a YAHF "Builder" style story. No, I am not tagging this to the appropriate challenge because I am not abiding by the guidelines in it. While I read and enjoy them, the power levels in them are so overbearingly absurd that I think the reason that most of them don't get finished is that it becomes difficult to imagine what could possibly present a reasonable challenge. Maybe the love child of Thanos and fem-Darkseid shows up wearing Daddy's mitten, the One Ring on one hand and a Black Lantern ring on the other while wielding the Deathly Hallows and Excalibur? I mean seriously, as described in the notes the challenge leads to they are, in a word, ridiculous.

Instead, Xander is an Artificer, straight out of D&D 3.5 edition. In a modern world where metals of a quality that would have been coveted by kings can be scrounged off the leaf spring of a junked truck, and most gemstones can be artificially created for a fraction of the cost, an artificer could pretty easily do his job for a tiny percentage of the comparative wealth by population that would have been required in the middle ages. Not to say that it won't still constantly be a penny pinching endeavor, but it won't be nearly as bad as it would be in the original medium.

For any that don't know, Artificers as they work in D&D 3.5 can be insanely powerful, given TIME and MONEY. Lots and lots of both. They don't have the ability to cast spells directly on the bad guys, they have to be happy with creating and enchanting items to do it for them, some temporary and some permanent. The big kicker is that there is very little casting that they can do that doesn't take at least one minute to accomplish. So while they are great for siege, both attacking and defending, outstanding for ambushes and any kind of pitched battle in which they had time to prepare, they are very easy to put down if they are themselves ambushed. A that point they are stuck with whatever stats god gave them, a selection of magical toys that may or may not be useful, depending on the circumstances, average bonus to hit per level, and generally a whole bunch of skills and abilities that don't do a whole lot because they are generally all taken in such a way that they can benefit the party by making shiny things, and then making them shinier. It IS possible to make a variant that can be respectable in combat (and Xander will be doing some of that) but he won't be replacing the Slayer in combat, and unless he has had time to prep he won't be replacing "Power Willow over 9000" that she ends up being later on.

As for the builder minions, the Artificer can create Homunculus. There are specific types that can be made, and I will be sticking with them, though their outward appearance my change notably their function and abilities will not. While there are no limits to the amounts of homunculus that can be made, each one is expensive, requires maintenance as well as upgrading as time goes on which is also costly, and finally if one dies it hurts the creator when it does so. If more than a few die in a short period of time, it can easily be lethal for the Artificer. In short, unlike Builder minions, they are not exactly expendable. If they die, you don't necessarily hold a funeral for them but it isn't a happy fun time when it happens. Theoretically he could also build golems, but frankly those things are crazy huge, slow, and expensive. They are not really able to be hidden. Most of the ones that would be worth building (and not outright evil to build or dangerous to build because they have a bad habit of turning on their owners) would be more or less the same degree of ridiculous as trying to fight with a Gundam on the Hellmouth and somehow expecting to not get caught. There are a few that might be worth looking into, but he won't be looking into that for a long time, if ever.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Once again, there are 80+ more chapters of this under the username "Datatroll" on 'Twisting the hellmouth" If you want to get caught up, leave reviews, all that jazz, my personal preference would be to handle it there. I can't respond directly in reviews here and it annoys me. Thanks.

Xandificer

Chapter 2

Just a little help from her friends.

Giles clears his throat. "What precisely does this mean Xander, and what about it would cause the two of you to stand there grinning like loons?"

The two ignore Giles and Buffy for a second as Willow speaks to Xander. "Do you remember enough to make it all work? I mean, you know, if it all works?"

Xander's eyes narrow in thought. "I think so Wills. I mean I won't know for sure until I try, and some of the ingredients I will probably have to research substitutes for, so until I get new recipes locked down it might be a little slow going. But yeah, it's definitely worth it to take advantage of at least until we can get this fixed." She pokes absently at her boob, lost in thought as the possibilities of what she could accomplish start to filter through her mind. It isn't that she suddenly doesn't mind being a girl, more that the twin obsessions of her artificer memories for research and experimentation along with her own to be more useful to the slayer than a piece of bait have congealed in her brain and refuse to be moved.

Giles opens his mouth to speak again, but this time Willow beats him to it.

"Giles, what this means is that there is a very good chance that Xander has all the power and skills required to make magical items. Eventually, unbelievably powerful ones." She turns back to Xander. "What level do you figure you are? So we can get an idea."

Giles snorts, as this is undoubtedly the most ridiculous conversation concerning the highly delicate mystical arts he has ever heard of. Buffy seems to have attached her thought process to the idea of shiny new toys and not left that general vicinity, because she is smiling, though it is still obvious that she is also fairly confused.

Xander gives it a bit of thought. "Not sure. I'd need to cross reference what I remember with the books. But I am gonna guess at least eighth or ninth. High enough to do some of the fun stuff, but I know I can't do rings yet. That's kind of a bummer. But arms and armor is go, wondrous items is go, scrolls and potions are go, though potions are going to take more trial and error than anything else since most of those ingredients are organic, and I'll need to sort out local equivalents. Thankfully I am buds with a monster slaying machine, so getting bits to experiment with shouldn't be that tough." She nods absently at Buffy with that.

Giles is starting to get more than a little nervous. The Watchers Council, which he represents, generally tries to avoid giving magical items beyond simple blessed equipment to their slayers. The reason is as cold as can be, but also undeniable.

Slayers die. Often with their watchers. When that happens, and it invariably will, whatever horrible thing that did the deed will loot the body and then not only will the council have lost all the money that had gotten spent on said equipment, but whoever the next slayer is will have an unbelievably tough time of it trying to deal with the now fully armed and armored creature that killed her predecessor. In the past, it has been known to take unbelievable resources to finally put to death demons that have been so equipped.

It isn't that he is against his slayer receiving such things. It is that the council cannot get wind of it. If they do, well, there is no telling what would happen but he suspects it would involve a Watcher's council wet works team and a rifle. Possibly a small cell somewhere for Xander where the secrets of... Her trade can be dragged out of her over a period of years and increasing amounts of pain. Assuming they don't just murder her outright. In their admittedly very important duties as the defenders of the world, they were known to be a bit alarmist when confronted with new things.

Of course, telling his slayer that his employers included her own death as an integral part of their stratagem may not be the best plan.

"I recommend caution, Xander. It has been my experience that there is very little in magic that can be done without consequence and as I rather suspect that this book to which you refer will not have the details of performing your craft near a Hellmouth, I would prefer if we did not get to far ahead of ourselves."

Willow and Xander exchange a look, then Xander speaks. "Actually, it is pretty well covered. I'll need to run a few tests but I am guessing that the whole town qualifies as unholy land thanks to the Hellmouth. That just means that I might need to step outside the city for a few very specific things. Otherwise it shouldn't effect anything. But being careful I can definitely see, so no worries there. How about you worry about finding somebody that can get me back to normal, and I'll worry about making a few toys?" She stops for a few seconds, her expression again falling into a cute little frown of annoyance that makes Buffy giggle a little and Willow almost smirk. "Right now I am more worried about where I am going to live than anything else. I can't go home like this, and if you can't fix me that makes me pretty screwed."

A new voice pipes up from the doorway. "She can stay with me. Also, you all should consider talking a little quieter when you are delving into really dangerous topics. I heard you from the hall." With that, Jenny Calendar walks into the room.

Offering her a heartfelt look of gratitude, Xander is moving in for a hug before she even realizes she is doing it. It feels pretty good though, so regrets? Not so much. Though if she doesn't get a handle pretty quickly on the differences between Xander's thoughts and the leftover impulses of the costume that was worn, it is only a matter of time until something unbelievably awkward happens. Random teacher hugging was getting close to the mark already.

Willow then has a thought. "What should we call you? Because Miss Calendar is right, it would be a bad idea to just assume people aren't listening around here."

Xander mulls that over for a few minutes. "How about Alex then? My Mom calls me that sometimes, so I should respond to it well enough and we can say it is short for Alexis or something."

Willow pipes up. "I should probably see about setting up a record for you in the system so you can get back in school and a social security number and stuff. It'll probably take me a few days though."

Xander regards Willow gratefully. "Alexis Harrison maybe? Close enough I can respond to it easily, far enough from it that even those in the know probably won't make the connection."

With a quick nod Willow jots down a few notes. "Sure, that works. I'll look into the county, state, and federal records tonight. Probably best if I make you a Jane Doe style orphan. The easiest way to avoid a bad paper trail is to have as little trail as possible to flub up. If you two both want, I can probably set you up as Miss Calendar's child through adoption or something?"

Xander looks at her. "Can I just say that it is kinda creepy how much thought you have obviously put into this?"

At her half smile, they both give a giggle, though both Alexis and Jenny are willing to go with this fiction.

That first day she is left to hang in the library with Giles until Jenny is off work, and then Jenny greets her and takes her to her car. But they end up at the mall.

Alex looks at her a bit funny, kinda sideways like. "I am guessing that you don't live in the mall. Soooo, why are we here?"

Jenny gives her a smirk of her own. "You need clothes. Badly. You look like... I don't even know how to describe how sad you look right now, but we have got to fix it before Willow gets you straightened out for school. So we need to buy you a few outfits. Giles pitched in a bit from his Watcher's expense account on the promise that we never reveal to the council where the funds went."

The horror on Alex's face is evident.

"I figure we can get some new underclothes that actually fits and maybe a weeks worth of cute outfits. Something for you to wear around while we are trying to get your gender sorted. Though I have to say, going from a goodhearted and loyal but powerless guy that has a home life that sees him beaten with a belt regularly to a beautiful and potentially powerful young woman that gets to live in the hot teachers spare room ought to be at least partial compensation I would think?" Her smirk at the end of this statement is met by a scowl that includes more than a little cute pout, and it causes Jenny to giggle a little.

Alex sighs. "You know, the strange thing is that I have all these memories that say that this is normal and being a guy would be weird. It is making this whole fiasco a lot easier to accept than it feels like I should be able to, and that throws me for a loop at least as bad as the change itself. I'm not sure how to describe it. I guess the easier this goes, the more it worries me because I can't help but think that more than my body, this whole thing has really done a number on my brain and that just scares the crap out of me. Does that make sense?"

Jenny nods, her face drawn in empathy and sorrow for her friend as she parks the car. "It makes sense, yes. Nobody likes to feel like their brain has been fiddled with. But for now, as hard as it might be to put it past you it might be worth it to just try to enjoy what you have? I mean, you get to legitimately feel what it is like on both sides. Sure, the circumstances could be better, but you'll have an opportunity to experience things like no other man ever has since the dawn of time. I promise you, the world is full of people that would leap at the chance to see through your eyes and feel what you feel. That's not even including your possible power as an artificer. Actually, what do you need to find out for sure? It seems to me that would be worth doing."

Giving it a moment of thought, Alex nods. "Yeah, it would be a good idea. I'll need probably thirty pounds of clay and some stuff from the magic shop, but one way or another I should be able to prove it pretty fast. A couple of days at the outside."

Jenny glances over as she opens the door to the car. "What are you gonna make with all that clay? Magic coffee mugs?"

Alex laughs. "Nope. Remember when I said Skite was a homunculus? Well there are like seven or eight different versions that I can make, and they all specialize in different things. Skite is a messenger and spy, there are a few dedicated to combat, one for thieving, so on and so forth. But the one to build next is called a "Dedicated Wright." Basically, they are a little crafting thing. They're like the size of a five year old and they have all the crafting skills that I do, they literally know what I know. Thanks to Halloween, I have a lot, and I mean a lot of skill in crafts and science as long as you are looking at crafts and science of like the fifteen hundreds or earlier. Once I have a dedicated wright up and working though, I can probably maintain my schooling and what ever and still pay my own way. They can complete master level crafts in mundane materials without any help from me as long as they have the raw stuff, and they can put together magic items for me once I have them started, so I don't have to live in my shop to get things done. Every memory I have tells me that making one of these guys has to be my first priority if I want to be useful and stay in school."

Jenny looks around. "That makes sense. How long will it take to make this thing? And where is Skite, anyway?"

Alex holds the door to the mall open for her. "Probably a couple of days. I should be able to have it done before Willow has an ID in the mail headed this way. Assuming it works. As for Skite, I asked him to keep an eye on Buffy tonight during her patrol, so right now he's just hanging out on the roof of the School waiting for her to leave."

Alex hasn't even really been paying attention to where they are going, but that changes as they enter a department store that caters specifically to ladies. Before she can say anything about this though, Jenny asks another question.

"So, can he help? I mean, Skite didn't look particularly rough and tumble."

Shaking her head, Alex holds her hand out to accept a pile of four shirts and pants that Jenny has placed in her arms. "Not really. Theoretically he has an attack, but he isn't any more powerful really than a normal ferret. But we have a mind link, so I can see what Skite does. So if she has trouble, at least we will know when it happens and can respond to it. I wish I had about ten of Skite that I could use to keep an eye on things, to be honest. Then if I had a pack of "Iron Defenders" that I could use as a response tool I would feel a lot better."

Jenny starts to make her way back to the fitting room. "Iron Defender?"

Alex nods. "They're the size of a small to mid size dog. Something that if it was a real dog would weigh about seventy pounds or less maybe. Of course, these are made of metal, so they weigh about three times as much for their size, they're fast as hell and they can be used as a quick response unit. I don't see them actually killing too many vamps on their own unless they have like three to one odds in favor, but they are kinda tough to kill, not easy to hit in the first place, and they are immune to possession, mind mojo, all that kinda junk so they can deal with a lot of stuff on the Hellmouth that we are better off not touching. Honestly, if they had opposable thumbs they'd be my go-to guys for demon slaying. Even without though I am betting that they'll be useful. They need a forge though. Might make a couple of 'Arbalester' first."

"What are those?"

Alex peeks over the growing pile of clothes in her arms. "Basically a self aiming and firing crossbow that stumps about on little legs. They are pretty fragile, but since I can make them able to fly at this point they might be a fun idea. They probably won't be so good at shooting mid flight, but from a roof or something, it could be a thing."

Jenny looks confused. "How do you make them fly?"

"Do you mean the mechanics of it or the magic bit?"

Jenny's confusion deepens. "Both, I guess."

Alex answers. "Well, there is an ability that I picked up that lets me do fun stuff with my Homunculus once they get built up past a certain point. New abilities and such. But as for the mechanical part of it, I was thinking about trying to build a quad copter frame around a self loading crossbow that has four little legs. Seemed like it might be the best of all worlds, especially if I give them some kind of spider climb type gear so they can stick to walls and such."

Having now made it to the fitting rooms, Jenny turns to a clerk that is stationed there. "Can we get her measured for a new bra? The one she has is both sad and horrifying. It's gotta go."

The clerk takes in the state of her current dress and nods. "Yes, I am going to guess... Luggage was lost by the airline? Niece visiting maybe?"

Jenny smiles. "Not quite. Close though. If you would be a doll and get her measured in the dressing rooms, I'd like to be able to get the right stuff the first time if I can."

After she is taken into the small room and has stripped to the waist, the sales lady checks her measurements with a cloth tape, then whistles. "Well, I've seen bigger, lots bigger really, but I have to say that on your frame these are pretty impressive. Double D's, just so you know. While I am getting your underclothes, should I be looking for stuff that downplays or displays?"

Alex can't think, the whole situation has him in brain lock. The answer comes from Jenny, just outside the door. "Some of each, enough for a weeks worth of wardrobe."

The sales lady smiles and scurries off to make a few selections while Alex tries on clothes.

An hour later the two are walking out of the store carrying a goodly number of bags to the car. "So now the magic shop and after that we can hit the art and crafts store for anything else you need and your clay you needed."

Entering the magic shop is a whole knew experience for Alex. So much of the stuff on the shelves now has a purpose to her, and so much more of it is revealed to be absolute garbage, at least as far as she can tell. Thinking ahead to what she'll need she drops two hundred dollars on some manufactured crystal that is pure enough for what she needs, as well as a few jars of various substances that should be able to have the effects that are desired. The arts and crafts shop actually takes longer as she spends quite a bit of time poking around in little clearance bins and whatnot.

Arriving back at Jenny's house and getting unloaded takes a bit longer and it is full dark by the time they shut the door for the evening.

"I can make us some kind of dinner if you would like to unpack into your new room. It's at the end of the hall."

Offering Jenny a quick nod, Alex goes to do that. A small bed, a dresser, closet, and drafting table as well as a folding table set up as a crafting space later, she goes down to help with dinner.

"So, as you know I am a magic user of sorts. I specialize as a techno-pagan, which just means that I like to see how technology and magic can co-exist and help each other to accomplish what neither could on their own. So believe me when I say that what you can potentially do is really interesting to me." Jenny passes over the butter for the re-heated rolls they have on the table to go with the various other leftovers that she has warmed up for dinner. "So not to be pushy, but when did you want to get started?"

Thinking around her roast beef sandwich and absently scratching her boob where that stupid under wire is digging in again, she considers. "Well, I could probably get the bulk of the sculpting done tonight. That part shouldn't be tough if I remember as much as I think I do. Enchanting it will have to wait until tomorrow morning though. Once I start a project like this it has to be the top priority for about eight hours a day until it's done, and any down time I have I need to take it easy and not eat into my reserves."

Once they are done eating, Alex takes her back up to the room where she puts down butcher paper on the table and starts sculpting her new friend. Two hours later as she is putting the final touches on the design and smoothing out the rough spots , Jenny finally says something.

"I like the design, really I do. But just out of curiosity, is there a reason you decided to make this thing look like a three foot tall pixie in a hard hat?"

Alex smiles. "Because when I'm done she'll be able to fly. It'll save her having to climb everywhere to do what I ask her to. Besides, just because the one in the books looks like some kind of demented and rabid mutant lawn gnome doesn't mean that mine has to. I'd like to think I have a better skill set than to make garbage, after all." She moistens the tips of her fingers and moves them slowly and carefully over the surface of her creation, giving it a very nice clean finish. "Sleep will be good. I can start the process of making her useful tomorrow early, right after breakfast."

Jenny, having decided that what is happening at home is far too interesting to go to work has called out sick, and when Alex is sitting on the couch resting after having put in her eight hours, the two find themselves discussing other possibilities.

"So, I am getting that you can make little automatons. What else?"

Putting her feet on a stool with a pillow on it, Alex responds. "Oh, just about anything eventually. There are some things I am not ready to tackle yet. Rings of power being one of the big ones. Technically I could enchant something that would look like a ring and you could wear it on your finger but technically it would be considered an "unslotted" magic item and it would cost like twice as much because of that and besides, I wouldn't be able to do any of the really cool ring things. But enchanted clothing, tools, weapons and armor, some magic scrolls and potions, wands, the list is pretty long. But it all takes time, lots of time and money for the materials. I might have to find out what I can sell so that I can make the money quickly to actually do some cool stuff. Who buys actual magic stuff? I mean, that we could sell to. Not interested in next weeks big bad showing up all covered in my gear."

Jenny thinks about this. "How would you feel about supplying hunters? I mean, the various people that have taken up arms against demons and the undead? Most of them either have reasonable bankrolls or steal enough as they go that they can occasionally drop some coin on an extra edge."

Alex looks confused. "But I thought that, one girl in all the world, nobody else can stop the evil, so on and so forth."

Jenny laughs. "Of course not. Most of the hunters I have met wouldn't last too long on the Hellmouth, that's true. There is just so much here that it wouldn't take long before they got overrun. But did you really think that everything that goes bump in the night calls Sunnydale home? Of course there are things that hunt all this garbage in other places. Somebody has to pick up the slack while the watchers council is busy stabbing themselves in the foot."

Alex nods again. Helping hunters while funding the defense of the Hellmouth? Not bad. Not a bad idea at all.

"Can we set up a website or something? Some way for them to contact me with requests? We could put a password on it and make it an invite only thing or something."

Jenny smiles. This could be good. "Sounds like a wonderful idea. Once you have a few items built that we can showcase, I'll get on it and make it happen. May as well make sure everything works first though."

So they do.

Almost six days later at three o'clock in the afternoon, the casting is finally done. It had ended up taking longer than she had expected simply because she was more powerful than she had thought and therefore the Homunculus needed more time to get correct. It being Saturday, the entire crew of Giles, Buffy, Willow, and Jenny are all standing around the room and sitting on the bed waiting to see what the finished result is.

When Alex finally stops, there is a warm glow around his creation, and the clay wings that were just the frames of dragonfly wings are filled with what looks at first glance to be liquid crystal. Her dark hair, the exact shade as Alex's, spills out from under the yellow hard hat that is the only thing she is wearing. She stands tall, and after giving herself a little shake that seems to knock off a few motes of dust here and there, she turns to Alex, removes her hardhat to put it under her arm, and smiles at her through brown within brown eyes, as most of her is still the colors of various types of clay.

Everyone else has stilled when she started moving, as if afraid that looking too closely would cause the seeming miracle to fail. Alex gives her a mental command, and she smiles and gets to it, gathering the clay that she will need as well as some glaze and then flitting about the table and using the cheap pottery wheel that was part of the purchases of a few days ago.

Jenny is the first one to speak, and even she is barely whispering. As if afraid they might startle the creature into fleeing. "What is she doing?"

Alex grins. "She's making Giles a set of cups, saucers, and a teapot for a "masterwork" set. She can have that done and packed by tomorrow or the next day, and we can fire it in the school kiln as a student project until I can get my own. She has all the skills I do and thanks to Halloween I have a lot. With a nudge from me and raw materials, she can build a copy of herself in the same number days it took to make her. I'd like to get at least one more of these built so I can have one working on magical stuff and another cranking out really high end standard gear that I can then be enchanting. But I'll need access to a forge first. Really, what I need is a full workshop. But before that I need money. I'll have to come up with something. Shouldn't be too tough to find customers, I mean, how many people are offering enchanted goods anyway?"

Giles chooses this moment to finally break his silence as he whispers. "Dear lord."

Author's Note.

Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring. I am trying to be considerate to the vast majority of my potential readers by explaining the Artificer a bit both in the story and in the previous author's notes. That being mostly done, I can get into more interesting bits soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Just the facts, Ma'am.

It wasn't until the next Tuesday that all of her paperwork came through allowing her to go back to school. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact that in order to be part of the defense of the town she needed access to the location of the Hellmouth she might not have bothered.

Well, that and the fact that Jenny demanded she go to school.

Getting the tea set in and out of the kiln became problematic simply because the teacher demanded to see the finished pieces and it took Alex turning the woman down multiple times to keep them out of the county arts and crafts fair. A second Dedicated Wright is being built back at the house, the same design though with a red safety hat this time. Alex is holding off until they are both live before she gets too crazy about producing stuff.

Alex finds herself somewhat lost as she wanders through the halls to go talk to Principal Snyder. Not literally, of course. She knows her way around the high school well. But mentally, trying to figure out her place in the institution given her new circumstances is a confusing and an unholy annoyance. Besides, as irritating, creepy, and evil as that little wretch Snyder was when dealing with a male, Alex is not particularly excited to deal with the man as a short, slender, and stacked young woman. Even simply wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt she is getting looks from the jocks, and Cordelia and the Cordettes were already starting the rumor mill going against her to defend their supremacy.

After asking at the office and being directed to a bench, she has to wait nearly fifteen minutes for the little toad man to open his door and wave her over.

"Alexis Harrison. I took a look at your transcripts. Fair grades, nothing outstanding. I noted that you haven't been involved in any of the sports, clubs, or other sorts of sanctioned extra curricular activities. I was wondering if you could come up with any reason at all that I should allow you to infect this learning environment with your anti-social and lazy ways?" His eyes pan quickly over her form as she stands there. Not as obvious as most of the male students she passes in the halls, but ten times is icky.

Alex makes it a point to look confused. "Because it's the law that I have to go to school and you have to take me? I'm not sure why you are acting like this is voluntary for either of us."

"Miss Harrison. May I call you Alexis?"

"No. I don't think so."

Snyder's weasel eyes start to fill with the hate he is so known for. "Look here, I don't run this place to let it get taken over by trouble makers. Just keep yourself out of detention and we'll get along fine. You can go down to the library to get your books."

Alex walks down to the library on autopilot, essentially. Wondering how long she will need to spend in the shower tonight to wash the eyes of Snyder off her chest.

Entering the library reveals the whole gang plus a random Cordelia. You know, for kicks. The group all looks up when she walks in, and Jenny and Giles both give her a nod, while Giles also looks over at the counter which has her text books sitting on it. Willow stands up with a smirk and walks over to give Alex a hug. Confused, Alex wraps her arms around her friend. Willow uses the opportunity to whisper to her.

"Cordelia is trying to grill us all on Xander's whereabouts. Nobody has said anything to her yet, we were all kind of waiting to find out what you wanted."

Alex nods. "Okay Wills. I think I can let her know. She'll figure it out anyway. She's a lot of things, but she was never stupid."

Willow gives Alex a confused look as she digs through her backpack for that damned bra that Cordy had supplied for Halloween. Alex then walks up to Cordelia, hands her the bra as her eyes widen almost comically.

"Thanks for the loan. I can honestly say that without your help I would not be who I am today."

She then slides past a gaping Cordelia and puts her new texts into her pack. By the time she is turned back around, Cordelia's mouth has closed and confusion and amusement are waging a border war on her features.

"What happened, Xander?"

Looking up at her old adversary, Alex corrects her. "Please, call me Alex. Short for Alexis. As for what happened, well, remember on Halloween when everybody was all wonky with their costumes? Well, I got my brain back but everything else apparently got co-opted by my costume. So, new improved me I guess." The sarcasm dripping off her tongue is easy to hear as well as the despair that taints everything when this topic comes up.

Cordelia looks a little defensive. "Hey, there was no way I could know that Halloween was going to go so crazy. I almost got eaten by JoJo the dog faced boy, I know Halloween pain. Believe you me."

Alex looks up at her. "Look, Cordy, I know there wasn't any way for you to know. I don't blame you for this." She takes a moment to motion to herself. "But thinking about it just hurts and despite all the snark we have spit at each other, I know you are plenty smart enough to figure out who I am. That's why I told you. But please, could we just not... Not get into it? If you want to go after my grades, or my clothes, or my hair, fine. The fact that I am poor, sure. But don't go after what I am or what I was. I have to deal with that enough already, I don't need the most popular girl in school dragging what passes for my life now through the muck."

Cordelia finds herself nodding. If she suddenly sprouted a penis, she wouldn't want the the class to know, that's for sure. "That's fair, I suppose. Going after this would be low hanging fruit anyway. I aspire to greater things than to kick a foe when... she's down. Do me a couple favors though?"

Alex looks at her curiously. "What's that?"

"Don't look at me in the locker room, and if you get a good opportunity to verbally destroy Harmony, I would love to see the shrew deal with a 'new girl' that has Xander's knack for inciting rage."

A quick smirk later, and Alex nods.

A few days later and everyone is once again in Alex's room to see the last bits of the animation of the new Homunculus. Her cherry red hard hat being the only difference that most can see between the two, though Alex can tell them apart easily. Naming them 'Thing One' and 'Thing Two' she is a little shocked when they both fly over to her and adorn her cheeks with a chaste but loving kiss each. Her cheeks reddening as she turns around to face her friends, she sees smiles all around as she sits on the bed.

"I think I must be doing something wrong. They have all the skills, and they do what I ask of them without complaint. But I don't remember them having this much personality before." She then looks at Buffy. "I can't put together any kind of metal gear or weapons without a forge, but it wouldn't take much to get you squared away with some good clothes and leather armor that were geared toward keeping you alive. Any preferences before I put them to work? I picked up the supplies for it last weekend."

Buffy looks a little shocked herself as the two Wrights fly over with cloth tapes and start taking her measurements, nudging arms and legs into the positions they need without so much as an attempt at explanation. "Well, you would be the expert, Alex. I mean, you do what you need to do I guess. Just, not black, okay? Make it happy colors. My life has enough darkness in it already. Also, fashionable if you can. I want to be looking good while I slay."

"That's fair. I'll put them to work on some stuff today, and we'll get the items themselves done and fitted to your satisfaction before we start the enchanting process. Making the leathers and shirt and whatever won't take all that long, not with both of them here and all the measurements already taken. Dying the leather before they stitch it all together will likely take as long as all the other steps of the process combined. Now, since it might make a difference on the overall look of the suit, are you willing to swap out for a pair of fashionable hand crafted boots instead of your normal shoes?"

Willow smiles. "Striding and Springing?"

Alex nods. "Yeah. There are a lot of other cool options, but for overall utility vs cost, a thirty three percent increase in speed along with a massive bonus to jumping ability seemed like the way to go. I was also thinking about trying to put together a slightly modified 'Belt of hidden pouches' for her."

Willow looks confused while Giles, Jenny, and Buffy are all looking Gobsmacked.

"Why modified?" Willow can't help but ask.

Alex shrugs. "Because the standard is thirty pockets each of which can hold five pounds but nothing can be longer than six inches in any dimension. Vampire killing stakes are longer than that. Going to have to try to work on the tolerances for the item to meet customer needs. Probably see if I can double the size of the dimensional pockets and cut it down to fifteen instead of thirty. More useful for her anyway."

Willow grins. "Why not just make her a Handy Haversack? I mean, a backpack that always has whatever you want from it on top would be almost as good most of the time, and better in a pinch, wouldn't it?"

Alex shakes her head. "It would if I thought I had a chance in hell of getting her to lug around a backpack while she is slaying."

Buffy finally breaks in at this point. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen peeps, sorry."

There is some good natured chuckling at this while they all head out of Alex's room now that Buffy's measurements have been jotted down by Thing Two and they are both looking at the crew with a little annoyance, feet tapping in that "You are in our way" kind of manner.

When they all get out into the living room, Jenny checks her email and then calls out to Alex. "Hey, we got a bite on the website!"

Alex rushes over to take a look. "Cool, who is it?"

Jenny glances through the email. "The Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan over in Santa Carla. You'd like these guys, Buffy. They've been keeping a lid on the Sunnydale echo fault for ten years, and they started at your age."

Giles startles at this. "The council disproved the existence of an echo fault for Sunnydale years ago."

Jenny snorts. "Yeah, I would imagine that they did. That's because these lunatics have been waging a two man war against the garbage that floats through their area and doing a good enough job to keep things from building up enough to draw the council's attention. My family has done business with them before. They are six kinds of crazy, but they're good people and they know what they're doing."

Buffy looks to Giles. "What the heck is a gecko faulty?"

Giles removes his glasses and holds the bridge of his nose. "Echo Fault, Buffy. It is a small offshoot of a primary Hellmouth, much like a volcano may have multiple vents before erupting. If what Jenny is saying is true, then these Frog brothers are quite remarkable. While not nearly as dangerous as an actual Hellmouth, these echos are not to be trifled with, the things they attract are quite deadly. I would be quite curious as to how they do it."

Jenny is reading the particulars of the email as she responds. "They only attack during the day, they have multiple well defended lairs in town to fall back to, and they cheat like mad bastards. My favorite story that the family brought back about them involved paint pellets full of holy water and a flame thrower."

Alex grins. These are his kinda people. "What do they need?"

Jenny looks a little sad when she responds. "Well, they have a bit of a list of 'wants' but the one thing they say that they desperately need is a way to produce holy water. It seems that the priest that was supplying them until recently ran afoul of some kind of trouble down by the waterfront."

"Hmmm. Interesting." Alex thinks for a minute, getting some scratch paper. "Well, the good news is that I know I can do it. The bad news is that I can't quote a price right now because I am pretty sure that the rules for holy water have changed on me and I will need to experiment. At least I hope they have, because if the cost is the same here then it is gonna be out of everybody's price range."

Giles raises his eyebrows. "You can create holy water?"

Alex shakes her head. "Yes and no. I mean, I can, but the traditional material component where these abilities were perfected was five pounds of powdered silver per pint of holy water. But then, that was on a world that had like fifty or sixty active gods that were all vying for power and control, it isn't surprising that they wanted their due for the blessing. Here, I can see it being a hell of a lot cheaper as the faith that produces it is a lot stronger and here, gods don't need money. Theoretically. Tell them that I can have an answer in a couple of days."

Jenny types it all in with a smile on her face, pleased that her idea is bearing fruit.

Willow takes this opportunity during a gap in the conversation to bring up something that she was hoping to avoid, but since everybody is here now... "So, Buffy, umm... Angel asked me to look into your buddy Ford a little bit, and I think you should know that he isn't registered for school like he says he is. He isn't on any of the rolls, and I can't find any record of his father having been transferred here like he says he was either and I only did it because Angel asked me to and please don't look at me like that it isn't my fault!"

This is new to Alex, she has been heading directly home after school to keep an eye on various projects and so has been a bit out of the gossip loop of late.

Buffy looks less than pleased. "So why do you feel like you need to spy on my friends?"

Alex can't help piping up at this point. Raising a single finger, she disagrees. "If it pleases the court, it was actually Angel that felt your friends needed to be spied upon, Willow was just doing your dead boyfriend a favor. Since she is pretty much the only one of us that would, you might wanna cut her some slack."

Buffy looks hurt and highly confused as well as offended. "You still don't like Angel? Why not? You aren't a boy anymore anyway."

Alex rolls her eyes. "Yeah. I'll admit that there might have been some teensy amount of jealousy involved, Buff. But primarily I didn't, and don't, like Angel because he is an undead pedophile that has more than two hundred years of history, a hundred and fifty of which involved killing anything that looked at him funny. Or, you know, looked at him at all. Or thought about looking. Or..."

Buffy cuts in, growling. "He isn't like that anymore. He has a soul now."

Looking up from his notes and sketches, Alex responds. "Yup. Some idiot gypsies stole an innocent soul from heaven and jammed it into a vampire so that they could both be miserable for eternity. That's great as long as you absolutely hate souls. If the guy actually had any balls he'd off himself in his guilt and the soul could go back where it came from. But that is just my opinion, Buffy. I am not passing judgment on you or your relationship as long as I never have to hear about it. All I am trying to make clear is that the person you are about to come unglued on is the only person you know that doesn't, on some level, want to see you crying into a dustpan full of boyfriend. So be nice."

"Xander would have never said that." Buffy says, disbelieving.

Alex nods. "That's true. He never would have said that he wasn't passing judgment. The rest of it was pretty much just waiting for a good opportunity. I don't think you quite understand how gross I find it that you are lusting after an animated corpse. Now can we please talk about something else while we are still friends? Because poor taste in boyfriends and my current unfortunate gender situation aside, I am still interested in being your friend. Just, a less mumbles in the dark to herself one and a more tells you what she thinks you need to hear one."

Her face still ashen, Buffy nods, though she then immediately mumbles an excuse and leaves to start her patrol early.

Willow is glaring at Alex, though it is undercut somewhat by the hand she has placed on Alex's arm as a silent thank you for standing up for her. Giles is sitting on the couch with his glasses I his hand, his fingers on the bridge of his nose, and alternates between grinning at the floor and scowling at Alex.

Jenny just looks shocked. Shocked, dismayed, and more than a little scared. Alex files that for later. Scared seems a bit much as a response to this.

"Jenny, do you mind if we go to the jewelers? I need to buy about a pound of silver. Probably run a bit over two hundred dollars, so I should have it no problem. But I need it to test with."

She nods, and the two leave after saying goodbyes to Giles and Willow, who are also leaving.

Author's Note:

I'm updating this once here for every two chapters I post on TtH. Just FYI :P

Edgar and Alan Frog are from the movie "The Lost Boys." Which I do not own, but instead Warner Bros. does.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Making stuff for fun and profit. And vomit.

"So, let me see if I have this straight." Alex says two days later, as they walk into the apartment so Buffy can see the new leathers that have been made. "This epic douche nozzle found out he was dying of cancer and decided it would be A-Okay to sell you to a vampire for a shot at eternal life as a humanity destroying infested corpse. Yet somehow despite all of this, you still felt bad enough for him to drag him out of there and take him back to his craptastic by-the-week apartment type place. Is this jerk really that important to you?"

Buffy looks a little disturbed by Alex's assessment, but unfortunately she can't deny any of it. "We do dumb, desperate things when we think we are going to die. Look at me, tearing off after the master and unwittingly helping to fulfill a prophecy that said I was gonna die by doing it."

Alex stops in the living room. "Yeah, not your finest moment, maybe. But you were willing to go down fighting the good fight against evil. To meet your fate head on and make sure it had a black eye and some cracked ribs when you were done. This ass clown wants to become the evil. Comparing the two of you like that is an embarrassment. Mostly to you. Look, I think the guy is basically a poster child for late term abortion being encouraged, but if he really means that much to you I can probably save him. It'll slow down your armor by a few days, but it isn't hard."

She looks at Alex a little confused. "You can cure cancer? Brain cancer?"

Alex shrugs. "Assuming that I can get all the bugs worked out of the potion, sure. 'Remove Disease' isn't a particularly expensive one to put together, and if it doesn't work then I'll lay good odds that a 'Lesser Restoration' will hold off the symptoms long enough for me to figure something out."

Buffy gives Alex an incredulous look. "You can cure cancer and you're worried about making money? How, what, why don't you just offer your potion of cancer-be-gone on the open market? Ten grand a bottle, it would still sell like hotcakes once people realized that it worked. Really tasty hotcakes." Buffy frowns slightly. "Now I'm hungry."

Alex frowns. "I actually thought about that. But I decided I liked my freedom too much to dive into the spotlight. I mean, I can only make one potion a day. So how do I decide who gets it? By who can give me the most money? Maybe a big quiz that asks a bunch of personal questions that are none of my business? What do I do when the legitimate medical community tracks me down and starts demanding answers?"

Buffy is looking a bit distraught now. "I don't know. But it feels wrong to have the power to save people and then not do it."

Alex nods. "And that is why you are my hero. But I can't be that person. I am not gonna set myself up to spend the next eighty years standing over a cauldron to save one person a day. In the long run, I can save a lot more seeing to it that the people that fight the darkness are well equipped to do it. But hey, if I or someone I care about has a personal stake in it, I am not above working out the details and cranking off a few bottles as time permits. Potions have a shelf life measured in centuries, for some silly reason. It wouldn't take much to just have Thing One and Thing Two crank one out whenever they aren't working on something else. Actually, there are a number of potions that it wouldn't be bad to have a stockpile of. I'll have to consider that. Maybe make a list." By the end, Alex is glancing about for her notebook and a pencil, so Buffy intervenes before things can get too far off topic.

"Are we going to check out my armor?"

Alex snaps her fingers. "Oh yeah, right. Follow me."

Once they enter her bedroom, Thing One and Two immediately flit over to Alex with giant smiles on their faces to give her a hug each, then they go over to the bed and after a bit of grumbling on Skite's part, move him off of the completed, though still not enchanted, suit.

The suit itself has been modeled after a set of two piece biker leathers only in this case the jacket actually snaps to the pants so it can't ride up and cause week points in the defense. All the places that a person would expect to find extra padding, such as knees, elbows, as well as chest and stomach, there are areas of thick, hardened leather that is being used as additional protection. The color of the suit on the whole is a dark, forest green, but the extra protection pads are a bright, neon purple and stand out to an almost retina scarring level. The collar on the jacket is both stiff and high, offering limited protection to her neck. The entire suit has small belts, straps, and elastic materials built into it to keep it tight and form fitting and the belt and boots intended to go with the outfit are a deep, midnight black.

"Oh my god, Alex, this is beautiful! I don't even want to wear it to slay in, it'll get all scuffed and nasty! But what is the shirt for?" She asks, pointing at a heavy silk shirt that is sitting next to it, this in an eye watering hot pink, which would be just visible peaking out from the top of the jacket.

Alex nods. "It has to do with the slots. Its kinda goofy to try to explain, but it is because of chakras or something similar. Basically, there are a specific number of items of magic that you can put on a human body before you have to start designing them to not take advantage of these contact points. Then everything gets crazy expensive. This handles your armor, waist, torso, and feet slots. Plenty left to go, so don't worry about that. But since it is gonna take probably a month to get all this done, even assuming that I can, we have some time to toss around ideas. As for the shirt, well, for starters it's made out of the nicest silk I could find, and I can set you up with a simple device to clean and do minor repairs to it down the road so you aren't relying on a dry cleaners. It should feel a lot nicer on your skin than the leather or anything else you might have been considering. But aside from that, I was planning to put some natural armor and resistance into it. Make you tougher to hurt, and harder to effect with magical spells and whatnot. Once we get the whole getup ready to go, you should be a lot safer out there, and eventually I can add more to these sets. There are a number of universally useful enchantments that can be kinda tacked on to items that normally do other things. Things like increased strength, dexterity, that kind of thing. I did want to know if you wanted some kind of dedicated head protection. A helm of some kind."

Buffy wrinkles her face with a frown. "I don't think so. I'd end up with nasty sweaty helmet hair. I think I'd rather die."

Alex blinks. Mostly because based on Buffy's tone, she really believes what she just said. "Okay there Buff. I'll see if I can come up with something that will be less... suicide by hair causing. So, go ahead and try it on. Make sure everything fits well, be advised that the boots will be stiff and you'll need to break them in but otherwise, if anything isn't comfortable let me know so we can get it right before we start the enchanting process. Then we are gonna need to hit the grocery store and the Magic Shop. Thankfully, due to the wonder that is globalization, if I can find the stuff I need for 'remove disease' it'll be pennies compared to what I would have paid back on Eberron."

Buffy looks at her oddly. "Eberron?"

A quick nod precedes the answer. "Yeah, that is the name of the world that this all comes from." She laughs. "I've got nearly thirty years of detailed memories about a place that doesn't exist while I was in a body that shouldn't exist. Hooray Hellmouth." The sarcasm fairly drips off of her tongue with that last bit.

Buffy nods absently as she starts doing up heavy duty zippers and snaps. Alex wasn't kidding, the silk shirt feels simply delicious against her skin, and the armor itself hugs it tightly in to caress every square centimeter of her skin that it covers, less the area covered by her bra. A bra that, by comparison, feels like it is made out of dead thistles and burlap. The leather is a little stiff, but then no worse than any new leather jacket. The belt and boots are both exquisitely made and obviously intended for hard use, though Alex was right that the boots will need some breaking in despite the fact that they are a perfect fit.

"Holy crap Alex. You should just set up a shop doing this. I've never owned anything that fit so well in my life!"

Alex nods with a smile. "You have probably never owned anything tailored to you specifically. My hope is that once I get some money coming in I can have one of the Things working on magical stuff and the other making mundane items, getting everybody in some tailored clothes was part of that. If we are gonna save the world, may as well look good doing it."

Buffy nods, with a huge smile on her face. "Why can't you just have both of them working on magic stuff? Wouldn't that be faster?"

Alex shakes her head. "Unfortunately, not an option. They are doing the work, sure. But they are extensions of me, and I can only make one magic item at a time. I try not to think about it too much as some of the rules in the game were obviously designed for balance, but when they are drug into reality by chaos magic they don't make a lot of sense. It just kinda is what it is."

Buffy does a few jumping jacks and some high steps, testing her flexibility and mobility. "How much did this cost, to get it where it is now? Because I could see this going big if you wanted to make a bunch of money selling stuff that isn't magic."

Alex considers for a minute. "Probably a hundred and fifty dollars. Maybe two hundred after the belt and the boots as well. Once I have my own shop I can probably do it for less. Most demons turn to oven cleaner when they die, but the ones that don't tend to have really tough skins that would make outstanding leather. Once I have the space and the tools, it wouldn't take much to make my own materials. I just hope that I can get some serious positive cash flow, because the suit you're wearing is gonna run probably twenty grand in materials by the time everything is actually done on it."

Buffy looks a bit guilty. "That much? Xan...Alex, I can't afford that. There is just no way."

A nod. "I know. I am hoping I can make enough with other stuff to keep you outfitted for free, basically. You, me, Willow. Probably Giles and Jenny as well if they're interested. So, does the suit pass inspection then?"

"Yes, absolutely. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd ask you to make a second one to do the mojo on and I'd just start wearing this one tonight. Two hundred bucks seems a bit much to just get it ripped up by a vamp though. We'll get it magicked up first." Buffy states as she starts stripping it off and getting back into her own clothes.

Alex grins. "Well, I am glad that you like it, but yeah. That would be a tad spendy. Maybe once there is money coming in for reals. Oh, that reminds me. I need someone to test the holy water jug on actual vampires before I send it out. I should have it finished in maybe a couple of days to a week, depending on how long this disease potion takes. You willing to try it out?"

Buffy nods as she adjusts her own shirt and looks longingly at the silk one that is laying on the bed. "No problem. I might ask Giles to order one for us if it works. It would be nice to be able to make it in the field if it was needed. Now lets hit the stores. See if we can sort out Ford before he does something even more abysmally stupid."

Alex grins. "Absolutely."

Two days later, Buffy, Willow, and Alex show up at the apartment of Ford at around five in the afternoon. Buffy knocks, then knocks louder when there is a call of "Sleeping, lemme alone." from the room. With a grumble, the door opens and his eyes go wide in fear at seeing Buffy standing there. "I haven't been causing any trouble, honest. I thought a lot about some of the things you said, and pretty much came to the conclusion that you were right. No one person is worth all the death I was going to cause. It's just hard to see that when your brains are liquefying."

Buffy's response is to hand him a bottle full of a brown, thick liquid. Like gravy. "Drink this."

Ford takes the bottle. Looks at Buffy and her two new friends. Raises an eyebrow, then grimaces at the headache. He pops the cork out, gives it a swirl, and chokes down the concoction.

Immediately, he knows something is happening. His headache is getting way worse, and his stomach is feeling queasy. Both conditions spiral out of control for ten seconds or so, then he leans over and vomits all over the front porch, as the three young women back up to get out of the spray with simultaneous noises of disgust. The vomit, a mix of bile, blood, and bits of white flesh, glistens in the early evening sun and as he stands back up straight he realizes that the pain is gone. He is still unbelievably tired, and is now hungry enough to eat a small horse, but the pain is gone.

Even morphine wasn't making the pain go away anymore.

Buffy steps over the vomit and grabs the front of his shirt. "You are going to go home to the mother and father that love you. You are going to get your ass back in school and make something of yourself and if I see you again before you can look me in the eye and tell me that you have made up for going out of your way to assist a known murderer with his plans for a killing spree, you'll wish you had died of cancer. Are we clear?"

As scary as she is, Ford can't help but grin. The pain is gone! "Yeah, we're clear. Thank you so much!"

Buffy shoves him, causing him to stumble over the dirty clothes and empty bottles on the floor. "One last thing? You don't tell anybody what happened. You go back, they test you, they will probably throw around words like 'miracle.' But if you tell them what happened, you'll piss off the person that put the crud together that saved your sorry ass. I don't know that they would be petty enough to reverse the effects of it, but I don't think you want to know either."

Ford nods. That's fair. More than fair.

He gets to live!

Five days later when Alex hands her a black thermos in the library, Buffy is a little confused. Then she catches on when she sees the carvings done around the base of it, some kind of runes, and the crosses that have been scratched into its surface with an incredible degree of artistry. "I take it this makes holy water?"

Alex nods. "Yeah, I kinda combined a pair of different items. Three times a day a person can give that a shake and use their will to have it fill with holy water or holy wine. One liter worth. That clunking sound you hear in it is a round piece of silver. Every time it does it's thing, it consumes a tiny bit of the silver as part of it's cost. I figured it would be cheaper here, but apparently it was a lot cheaper. That bit of silver was maybe a hundred bucks and it'll keep this thing going for decades of constant use."

Giles looks incredulous. "You are quite sure that it will work? That it will make holy liquids?"

Alex shrugs and turns to face Giles. "Theoretically. Hoping that Buffy will have a chance to test it tonight so I can get in touch with the Frog brothers about a price and a time for them to come pick it up. I've burned through like two thirds of my road trip fund at this point, I really need some positive cash flow."

Buffy looks at Alex with a grin. "I was thinking about that, actually. You seem to have a lot of skills with artsy fartsy stuff now and a pair of little minion girls that are more than happy to do what you want and use your skill to do it. Ever thought of putting some stuff in my Mom's art gallery for consignment? I mentioned to her last night that I knew a girl that was crazy skilled and local, she said she would be happy to take a look. Apparently she takes twenty percent off the top, and she reserves the right to remove anything from the gallery that is proving offensive or that has been sitting around too long without selling. But other than that, I thought it might be worth looking into."

Alex considers. Make money. Potentially help Joyce's gallery. Win-win.

"Sounds good, I'll have to go down there after school and see what kinds of things she wants to sell and decide what I can do for her. Thanks, Buff.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Good guys roll the bitch dice too.

Upon entering the library the next morning, Alex was greeted by a rather pleased group of people, and Buffy herself leaps up from where she is gushing about something to sweep her up in a hug. "Oh my god, this thermos is so cool I need a new word for it!"

Alex is a tad confused. "So, it works then?"

Buffy laughs as she disengages from hugging the confused brunette. "Yeah, I'll say. It makes holy water alright, but it has the little flip top spout with a straw that goes down the the bottom inside. So I was sitting down having a drink, you know, cause thirst is a thing, and I figured holy water can't be bad for me, and I panicked when this disco vamp jumped out at me. I honestly don't know what I was thinking, but I went to stab the thing with the thermos. I know, dumb panic moment. But I was angled up, cause like everything in the universe is taller than me plus I was still just standing up, right? Well, I don't know what changed with having it open, but the bottle didn't get rid of the air that was already in it when I activated the thing again. It went off like a three second fire hose of holy water right in this guys chest and face. Burned a hole clean through him. It was awesome!"

Alex grins. "So, it works, and comes with a bonus feature. Cool. Now gimme, I need to get this to the guys in Santa Carla."

Buffy frowns. "But I like this one. Can't I keep this and you make them another one?"

Alex rolls her eyes and tries to calm herself. "Buffy, this is a commission. They need this thing. They don't have a slayer to pick up the slack when their tools fail. So unless you want to spend your weekends in Santa Carla dusting their vamps, gimme. Besides, I am planing to charge them ten grand for it, and that will go a long way toward getting your suit made."

Giles looks up from what he is reading. "Alex is quite correct, Buffy. I am sure we will have one of our own before too long, but if the council knew about things in Santa Carla, your presence on occasion to thin the herd a bit would become mandatory. Helping these Frog brothers is really only assisting yourself."

Buffy tries the puppy dog eyes on her, which causes Alex to sigh, then smirk, and then take step forward completely invading Buffy's personal space and coincidentally causing their boobs to smoosh together. Buffy lets out an "Eeep!" sound and hops back, tossing him the thermos as she goes. After catching the thermos, a trademark lopsided grin that they hadn't been seeing a whole lot of lately makes an appearance.

"Sorry Buffy. If you want me vulnerable to the big, soulful eyes again, you'll need to have Sparky the Wonder Watcher get all up in his books and figure out how to get Xander back. It's a lot easier to ignore that kind of manipulation when I'm not trying to figure out how to hide a hard-on at the same time."

Giles sputters as everybody else, even Buffy, laughs at this.

"Sparky the... Alex, I am doing what I can, but I told you before that it was unlikely that I would be able to do so. More importantly, this is the Hellmouth. It isn't as though I am able to drop everything and concentrate solely on your problem."

Alex shakes her head. "I know, Giles. I know. I wasn't trying to beat you up over it. I'm just frustrated. Theoretically, I should be able to fix this myself, in like eight or so levels. But I don't even know if I can level. I don't know if it is possible to increase these skills and powers or if they are locked in stone, and since I am doing all the creating and none of the adventuring, who knows how long it would take me to level even if I could? A decade? Maybe two? Creating stuff according to the game books costs experience. Killing stuff, adventuring, completing quests gains experience. If I stay the course, and if the rules all transferred to reality, I'll never get weaker at this but I'll never get stronger either, that's for sure. I think once I get Buffy kitted out I am going to have to do the same for myself. Start patrolling again or something, otherwise I could be stuck in a rut forever."

Most of the people in the room are saddened, but Buffy is the one to respond.

"But, no, Xand... Alex. Don't you see, this is it, this is how you help without getting hurt. You can do way more for me making stuff than you ever could as Xander. You could be my Q!"

At the blank looks from people, she rolls her eyes. "James Bond. Mom had a thing for Sean Connery. I can have culture sometimes too, you know."

Alex sits at the table and puts her head in her hands. "Buffy, you are asking me to give up on everything I was a month ago because this is more convenient for you. Do you even understand how much this hurts? How wrong it is for me? I mean, I have a boatload of fake memories, and they help, but it isn't me. What is it about me that you hate so much that you would rather have this?"

Alex stands and picks up her bag as Buffy is trying to sort out how to respond to this in such a way that it will stop Willow, Jenny, and Giles from looking at her like she is slime.

Alex looks over at Jenny on her way to the door. "Miss Calendar, I'm gonna take a personal day. I'll see you at the house."

That night at Jenny's apartment is a fairly somber affair until after dinner. Then as Alex is getting to work on a set of leather arm guards, Jenny sits down on Alex's bed next to her workbench. She places a hand on her shoulder, and turns her around on her swiveling stool. "You know that she didn't mean it like that. She just wants to keep you safe, and she hoped that maybe this would do it. Hoped it so hard that she spoke without thinking. I know it hurt, but it came from a place of friendship."

Alex sighs. "I know. I know she didn't mean it. I know I am being unfair, nothing about this is her fault. I know she never felt anything boyfriendish for me anyway. But it still sucks that she is willing to toss away the possibility like that. Nothing says "I'm not interested" like "Please check your dick at the door while I go star-eyed over this corpse."

Alex shifts uncomfortably. "In the interest of full disclosure I should probably admit that I am feeling pretty crappy today regardless. On a related topic, they need to write better instructions on tampon packs, because that shit was not intuitive at all. Just saying."

Jenny's eyes widen and a ghost of a smile dances around her lips, but seeing the abject misery on her young friends face she manages to reign it in for now. "Do you have any questions about it?"

"Yeah, does it count as a status effect? Because if it does, my budget is going to make room for monthly restoration potions. This crap is for the birds."

Deciding that the best plan might be to change the topic, Jenny turns to the table. "What are you working on now?"

Alex glances back at the table. "Bracers of archery. The lesser version."

Looking intrigued, Jenny inquires further. "What do they do, and what other versions are there?"

Allowing a small amount of pride to filter through, Alex picks up the half formed piece of armor and rotates back around. "They give anybody that wears them a basic skill with any type of bow other than a crossbow. If you already have skill in it, they make it easier to hit what you are aiming at. The greater version is pretty much the same, except if you are already skilled then they give you a better chance to hit and magically increase the damage. I figured the crew could do with a real archer, even if somebody has to fake it. The reload time on a crossbow just sucks."

Jenny is letting her eyes run over the expertly carved leather with interest. "You can make items that give people martial skill?"

Alex laughs. "I can make items that give people all kinds of bonuses. It's just all expensive. That reminds me, I sent the holy water jug to the Frog Brothers. I told them to pay the website on delivery. They were a little leery of parting with ten grand without proof that it works, and you vouched for them. So I am not to worried."

Jenny looks over to the two things, who are on the other side of the small workstation doing something with wood. "What are they doing?"

"Making a chess set. Ebony and maple veneer over an oak base, with a padded and silk lined drawer sectioned out to keep each piece in. The pieces are carved out of quartz and hematite. Joyce wanted something unique for the gallery, and with the woodworking and sculpting skill that I picked up on Halloween, I am hoping that this will impress her. I could really use the money. A lot of stuff is way cheaper to make here, but some of it, well, you just can't cut corners on some of it, and when you start getting into gems and precious metals, cheaper doesn't mean cheap. After the Frog brothers pay up, I still need eight grand to finish Buffy's current suit."

Jenny reaches out her hand to hold Alex's. "It is really good of you to see past your differences and still help her like this."

Alex shrugs. "It's got nothing to do with me. As long as she keeps fighting the good fight, I'll keep helping however I can. Right now that means this. Last month it was getting tossed around by evil crud to buy her time, and last spring it was giving her CPR. Whatever it takes."

Alex turns back to her work, and Jenny walks out of the room, her eyes narrowed in thought.

Alex decides that with how she feels, she has just about zero desire to deal with class the next day and stays home to work on things to make money instead. Calling out sick for the second day in a row gets her a stern look from Jenny as she is on her way out the door to go to the school, but that's all. She does understand, after all.

She spends the bulk of the day finishing up the bracers, considers making a second pair but decides it makes more sense to enchant the first ones before she gets too crazy about making any more, especially since she currently can't afford to get what she needs to finish the first pair.

After three in the afternoon, she takes the now completed chess set to the gallery after having started the Things on making a pair of quality and sturdy, but light crossbows. The mechanical pieces she had ordered finally arrived in the mail, so it's time to get that started. Working out how to rig a magically powered quad copter instead of wings was going to be a pain in the ass, but she couldn't really start on that without the crossbows.

Entering the gallery, she walks up to the counter and sees Joyce munching on an apple. Buffy's mom puts her apple down behind the counter, swallows, and gets a big smile on her face. "Welcome back! When you said you would have something for me soon, I wasn't expecting quite this soon."

Alex offers a smile of her own. "Yeah, well, I really need to get some money coming in, so I was pretty motivated. Take a look and see what you think. I am hoping to clear at least six hundred, the materials were around a hundred, and I have to believe that my time is worth something, right? There are a few hours into this."

Joyce looks hopeful, but not ecstatic. Whatever is in this bag would need to be exceptional indeed to go for six times the price in materials and created in only a day by somebody just breaking into the art scene. "Well, lets see it and I'll let you know what I think we can get for it."

Alex opens the bag and pulls out a small folding stand wrapped in a cloth. Sturdy, and well made. Beautiful, really. But the size of a TV tray and nothing that anybody would pay more than fifty dollars for. Joyce is about to say as much when her eyes are forced open wide by the second thing to come out of the large duffel bag.

Unwrapping the chess set and setting it on the stand, the beauty of the finish is marred only by the slight smell of the linseed oil that was used to seal the wood. The light and dark squares perfectly put together and sanded down to a finish that looks almost frictionless. Joyce legitimately thought this was the end of it, and frankly it could be worth five or six hundred at the quality she is seeing, but not here in her little gallery. In LA maybe. In a Hollywood shop, it could go for that much. But not here.

Then the girl opened the drawer and started pulling out the pieces. Exquisite detail work on every one, and yet not the same on every one. Oh, each piece in hematite and smoky quarts is easily recognizable as what it is. But each individual piece is different. There are pawns with spears, with swords, one with a bow. One knight on the side of white has his mount rearing, while the other is standing on three legs, the right front raised. One black rook has a what appears to be a small dragon prowling around the top, while the other has an open shutter near the top and an exquisitely carved tiny face leaning out of it. Looking at the piece more closely, Joyce feels her astonishment grow as she turns back to the counter to get a magnifying glass.

The face in the rook is Alex's. Easily recognizable under even modest magnification.

Joyce carefully places the piece back on the board as Alex stares at it, hoping against all hope that Joyce will think this is good enough to be worth selling.

"You made this in a day? One day?"

Alex shrugs. "Closer to two workdays I'd guess. I didn't sleep a whole lot. Is this not a fit for your shop? Because I could put together something different, just tell me what you want me to make, and I can make it happen probably. I am pretty good at this kind of thing."

Joyce blinks. "Yeah. I'll say. Look, you have skill that I haven't seen in a long time. If you want me to put this up on consignment here, I'll do it and within a month, I'll be able to hand you a thousand dollars, minimum. The detail work on this is amazing. But what I would like to do is enter this piece into an auction down in Los Angeles through my shop here. After my twenty percent and their fees, you will probably still only make a thousand. It could even be less. But it will get your name out there, your maker's mark. A couple of years down the road, this same piece might go for ten grand at the same auction. Are you willing to take a gamble?"

Alex thinks about it. "Well, are you?"

Joyce looks confused for a moment. "How do you mean?"

Alex looks at the set for a moment, then back to Joyce. "I can give you something like this every other day. But I need money for materials and food and stuff. How about I just sell this to you for five hundred, and in two days I'll come back with something new? Once I have my feet under me for real I can talk about auctions and gambling and stuff. Right now I just need to survive and get some wheels greased so I can work my trade."

Joyce considers. It is an exquisite piece. At five hundred, it is likely she will double her money, and tripling it isn't out of the ballpark. There is basically no chance that she'll lose money. But this girl has talent, and Joyce wants that talent to grace her gallery for as long as she can before some snobby git with a shop in Beverly Hills and deeper pockets finds her and snaps her up.

"That isn't fair to you, Alex. I can't do it." At her look of frustration, Joyce raises a hand to calm her and keeps talking. "I am willing to gamble for you though. I will offer a five hundred dollar advance, to be taken out of the eventual sale price. I still get my twenty percent, and I see you again in two days. Fair enough?"

The look of relief on Alex's face is almost comical. "Yeah, that will work great Mrs. Summers. Thanks."

"No, thank you. Go ahead and put this all away, I assume the stand was made to come with the piece?"

"Of course." Alex nods.

Joyce motions toward the rear of the store. "Lets get it put away and take it into the back, where we can get it professionally packed for transport to the auction next week. Do you have a business name you would like to use, or is your given name okay?"

Alex considers. "I guess my given name is fine. I don't have any kind of business name, anyway."

Joyce nods. There is something unusual about all of this. "If I might ask, how old are you?"

Alex has finished putting the last of the pieces away and is closing the wooden push latch that keeps the drawer closed. "Seventeen. That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"

Joyce shakes her head. "No, not really. But I would like to speak to your guardian at some point. If things go the way I hope they will, we will be dealing with large sums of money on a monthly basis very soon, and I wouldn't want anyone thinking I was taking advantage." Also, Joyce thinks, what kind of guardian leaves their charge desperate for money like this?

Alex nods as they pass through the doors into the back. "I can bring her in with me in a couple of days if you like when I bring in the next piece. What would you like me to bring in?"

Joyce considers. Her gallery is small, and space is at a premium. If the girl is willing to work within restrictions... "How about something for the wall, that can be displayed just at or above eye level? I have the wall space and things like that tend to move the fastest anyway."

With a smile, Alex accepts her five hundred dollar advance and heads to the hardware store.

Authors Note.

Huh. Gonna be honest here. I just started typing because I wanted one more chapter to settle things in and sort out a realistic expectation of monies a bit before "Eyghon" and when I was done typing this is what was here.

Hopefully you all approve of my highly scientific method of vomiting through a keyboard.

Also, don't own James Bond. I think it is currently Columbia Pictures, but as far as I am concerned it is still Ian Fleming.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

2 gud 4 u

Dinner a week later at the Summer's residence is tense, and Buffy isn't sure why. It isn't Dawn, to the best of her knowledge the kid bratster hasn't done anything tension worthy lately. When Mom puts down her glass, clears her throat, and turns to Buffy, she is sure that her world is about to end. But then her mother speaks.

"Buffy, this Alexis Harrison you introduced me to. How well do you know her?"

Buffy considers. Do we go with the truth, or the provable? "She is pretty new at the school, but we spend a lot of time together. Why?"

Joyce looks at the ceiling, then back down to her daughter. "Because at first I thought she was just lying about the time it took. She brought me a masterpiece chess set. Hand carved stone pieces. Beautiful wood finish board, complete with an interior silk lined drawer to keep everything in. Buffy, I don't even want to sell the thing, I want to keep it in my gallery forever as a yardstick by which to judge anything similar. She claimed she did it in a day of no sleep. Even if she had done nothing but hand carve chess sets for the last ten years, there was a month worth of work there. If she already had a name for herself, it was a five to ten thousand dollar piece of art at the absolute minimum. But it gets even better. I hauled in an expert from Los Angeles. Don't tell your friend, but I was concerned it might have been stolen. Not only was it not stolen, but based on the few marks left after the final polish went into the pieces and board, it was literally hand made. No power tools used at all. Do you know how rare that is? To find truly hand made and polished pieces? Of that quality?"

She takes a sip of wine, then looks back at her daughter.

"We made a deal, and she asked me what I wanted next time. I asked for something that would fit on a wall. It seemed safe enough, and it would give me an idea what she was capable of aside from really fancy board games. So two days later she hauls in a woodcut picture in a frame. Absolutely stunning combination of layered cut woods of different colors and some wood burning to create a picture of the San Francisco skyline and the golden gate bridge. Beautiful piece. But she wasn't done. After we put it on the wall she showed me two knobs on the bottom. I didn't even realize it because the seams were so tight and the layered woods hid it, but the picture was actually vertical pieces. Twist the first knob, they moved apart just enough to swivel. The second turned them. It was actually three pictures, the second was the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty, and the third was of Seattle and the Space Needle. All put in a custom made mahogany frame that would have taken most craftsman a day to finish all by itself."

She is shaking her head, as if she is still trying to believe it.

"She asked me what I wanted next time. At this point I was really worried that I was trafficking in stolen property. So, I got specific. I asked for a small jewelry box with wood cut relief of the comedy, tragedy masks on top and a stained glass front of a blonde girl ice skating. I'll be honest, I really thought the ride was over at the look on her face. Then she just asked if I would mind if the stained glass was set into wood, as she didn't have the means to work metal yet."

Buffy gets a weirdly confused look on her face. "Why would you ask for that? You don't sell jewelry boxes."

Joyce nods, holding up a finger to stall her eldest as she sips a bit of wine. "I know. Your Christmas present is on the counter. Don't ask your friend how much I paid her for it. I may have gone a little overboard when she came through on that one, I felt like a creep for doubting her. But Buffy, I need to know how she's doing this. If she already had a name for herself in the industry, she's produced in the neighborhood of twenty to thirty thousand dollars worth of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen and she did it in a week. A WEEK!" Joyce stops there for a moment, as if yelling hadn't actually been her plan and now she felt guilty about it. "I need to know that there isn't a hovel full of Mexican children being whipped to create this stuff or something. I have to legitimize it somehow, or I can't deal with her. There will be too many questions from the art community that I can't answer. Nobody produces work this good this fast. It just can't happen. Find out for me? Please? She's a lovely girl and I absolutely adore the pieces that she brings me, but... I just have to know."

Buffy tries to hide her sadness. There isn't an answer that her mom will accept, so it looks like this partnership is done for. Trying to put a smile on her face, she looks at her Mother.

"Sure Mom. I'll look into it. See what I can find out."

At the same time, at the Calendar-Harrison residence the final touches are being put on a third Dedicated Wright, this one wearing a green hat as the black hair falls down around her head. Like the first two, she shakes herself free of the little motes of dust and clay that didn't animate, and then she flies over to Alex and plants a small kiss on the end of her nose while the other two smile.

Jenny shakes her head from over by the bed. "I swear, that will never get old. Why did you need a third one again? Especially bad enough to run yourself ragged getting it made this week while you are producing for Joyce as well?"

Alex smiles. "Well, primarily because making non-magical stuff is proving to be more lucrative than I thought it would be. But honestly, even if this thing with Joyce doesn't pan out long term, it doesn't hurt to have a third set of tiny little hands. This leaves me with two to deal with mundane orders and one that can be creating magic stuff eight hours a day and then pitching in on the standard stuff the other sixteen. Hopefully, I can just concentrate on school, homework, and sketching out new designs while my lovely ladies in waiting here handle the busy work. That said, Thing One? Its time to finish up the armor pieces for the Buffster. Just the armor and the shirt. I don't have the bits and bobs yet for the boots or belt. But hopefully we can have that before long."

Alex runs into Buffy the next day in the school cafeteria, as she has been kind of avoiding the Buffy and by extension the library since last week. As she is trying to decide the least agonizing way t tackle her "mystery loaf" the blonde slayer plops down on the bench opposite and starts to eat.

"Where's Willow?" Alex asks, both legitimately curious where her friend is and trying to derail whatever talk Buffy had planned as she is looking entirely too introspective for the results to be good.

Buffy slowly stirs the greenish orange mash that is trying to pretend it wants to grow up to be peas and carrots. "Looking for Giles. He's been out all day and nobody knows why. But that's not why I'm here." She pushes her tray forward, as if getting it away from her might give her strength. "You can't sell to my mother's gallery anymore."

Alex can actually feel her heart drop. "Why? Was there something wrong with the stuff I sold her?"

Buffy shakes her head emphatically. "No, no, nothing like that. The way she talks about your pieces, honestly, I was getting jealous. I don't think she's ever been that happy about anything I've done. No, from what she was saying you are basically too good. Well, not too good maybe, but too fast for sure. She can't figure out how you are making pieces so nice so fast, and since she can't, she can't justify it to 'the art community' at large." Buffy makes liberal use of the wacky finger quotes at this point. "Reputation is everything to a little start up gallery like hers. Especially one that is only a couple hours drive from LA. She has to be able to account for the history of everything she sells down to the last century of owners, the materials that went into it, the artists that worked on it if she can, I mean, seriously. She has separate files on everything in there. Then add you, this up and comer who is cranking out masterpieces left, right, and center. She asked me to look into how you are doing it. She's afraid you have a bunch of Mexican kids chained to a worktable or something. Look, I'm sorry. I really am. But unless we can give her something she'll believe, you need to be done."

Alex thinks. That... That isn't a problem that she saw coming. But she should have. Between having forty eight man hours per day, smaller, and more detail ready hands, and her occasionally using a bit of magic here and there to speed things up it is pretty unlikely that anybody else could manage what she has been doing, even with the use of power tools, and Joyce is anything but stupid. Still though... "What if I could prove it? I could make something right in her shop, raw materials to finished piece. She could call it a "local charity workshop outreach whatever" or something. I probably can't get done quite as much on my own as I can with my helpers, but I should be able to get enough done to put her mind at ease, and I can slow my deliveries to maybe once a week after that."

Buffy considers. Then starts nodding. "Yeah, that could work. And listen, about last week? I stand by what I said. I don't want you getting hurt. But given the choice, I'd have you looking however made you happy. Honestly, you and Willow are too important to me to risk. If I could I'd keep you in a nice gilded cage somewhere far away from the Hellmouth with good dental and a nice long distance plan. But I was thinking about it. You said once that your little builder guys were extensions of you, right?"

Alex nods, wondering where she is going with this.

"So does that mean your little fighter guys will be too? Because that would mean that you wouldn't have to be in the middle of things. You could be all fray adjacent and still be helping, still getting your experiences or whatever, right? You could be my Q and my eye in the sky and my backup and my tag team partner, and you could do it all from your bed, right? Because that would be perfect."

Alex can't help but grin. That... That has real possibilities. "Well, I can increase the range that the telepathy works between us to like ten miles, that will easily cover Sunnydale and the surrounding area. They won't be quite as tough that way, but I can make it happen and I can make up for the loss with some relatively cheap equipment for them. The only real danger would be losing a bunch of them at once, I'd need to keep the numbers that were involved at any one time down to reasonable. Maybe five or six, anything more than that would be getting pretty dangerous for me. I can give us secure communications, too. There is a ring that offers a mile range on spoken word between people that wear it. I can't make the ring, but I can make something similar as an un-slotted item for double the cost. Probably cannibalize some old blue tooth earpieces or something."

She flashes some irritation. "It'll still be awhile though. I just started your shirt and armor, less the boots and belt. It's gonna be at least two weeks to get that done before I can work on anything else and if I have to slow down on offerings to your Mom's gallery then I need to find a new source of income."

Buffy looks pleased, as she was a little worried that Alex would fight for the right to be directly in the thick of it. "What about your internet business? Any nibbles from the hunters?"

Alex nods as she pushes her own tray away. Something about not being a guy anymore makes the food here... Well, it isn't actually any worse but it still seems less tolerable for some reason. "We got a bite from some guy named Sam. But what he wants I am not sure I can actually do, it is a bit out of my skill set."

Buffy looks confused. "How so? You build freaking everything."

Alex shakes her head. "Nope. I build anything that was conceived of previous to the fifteen hundreds, and I can sometimes fake it beyond that with style and whatever. But this guy wants me to make a bunch of magic bullets for some gun he got a hold of. A modern style gun, using a modern style bullet and cartridge. I wouldn't even know where to start. I offered to try to add "Demon Bane" to the gun itself so they could maybe just use normal bullets, but he wasn't willing to risk the gun and I have no idea if it would have worked anyway. We are still trying to hash out something. I'd like to help him, according to Jenny these guys treat killing demons like it's a family business basically."

Buffy nods her head, considering the possibilities. "Can you find out what kind of gun it is? Maybe we can get something similar that you can experiment with. Then they'd have two magic guns, and one of them could use normal ammunition."

Alex grins. "I thought you didn't like guns?"

Buffy frowns. "I don't. They aren't very useful for me, and they don't kill vamps anyway but if the bad guys got a hold of one they could hurt me pretty bad with it." Then she shrugs. "But these guys aren't the slayer, aren't working in my area, and probably need all the help they can get. If we can get them a magic gun that will knock a demon on it's ass, I say go for it."

Alex smiles. "Alright. I'll see what I can find out. You know I'll need you to test it, right?"

Buffy throws her an enigmatic grin. "That's okay. I like being test girl. It's been fun so far. We need to think about getting to class, but I'll talk to Mom tonight about the plan. When do you think you could be ready for something like that?"

Hmmm, thinks Alex. "Good question, actually Since it would be show and tell time it would probably be worth it to make a set of enchanted tools before I try to wow her with my awesome, and I just started your armor. So maybe three weeks? Your suit will take two. Of course, I need to find a way to make some money in the meantime.

Neither had noticed that Cordelia Chase was listening to most of their conversation from the next table over. It never paid to get close to the weirdo losers of the school, but it was always a good idea to know what they were up to. It helped you live longer. Turning around to stand, she catches Alex by the sleeve as she is going to clean her tray.

"You can make suits?"

Alex looks at her. "Yeah? I made some armor for Buffy. Why?"

Cordy looks like she is making a decision. "Can you make normal clothes too? Are you any good at it?"

Buffy, who was walking up behind the two and is getting an idea where this is going, feels her face break out into a huge smile. "Oh my god, Cordelia, you have no idea. She made a pile of leather and silk into the most beautiful and comfortable thing I have ever worn."

Cordelia smiles. A potential up and comer fashion prodigy, now that might be something worth getting a little excited about. "So, how do I place an order? You tailor to fit, right?"

Alex looks a little confused. "You want to buy clothes from me?"

Cordelia rolls her eyes. "Buffy may be the queen of the losers, but it isn't because of how she dresses. If she thinks you have skill, I am willing to drop some money to find out. Meet after school?"

Alex is still at kind of a loss as to how this happened, but hey, money is money. "Sure. You don't mind that my methods are a little wiggy, right?"

Cordelia tuns to walk away. "Everything else about you is, why wouldn't this be too? I'll meet you in the library at five. We have cheer practice tonight."

Buffy gives Alex an absolutely stunning smile. "What's got you so happy? Now I have to invite Cordelia into my home. Only thing worse than a vamp on the Hellmouth."

"You don't get it. Cordelia is the Queen Bee here. If she likes your work and wears it, within a month, you'll be getting orders from every single upper class girl here, and probably a lot of the guys too. But really, the fun stuff starts when their parents notice. This could be huge for you, and could pay for a lot of shiny stuff for me!"

When Alex makes it to the library that afternoon, there is already a big fiasco in the making. There is a guy locked in the book cage that looks all demony and Giles is trying to tell the others to butt out, that this is his problem.

"Hey all, what's the what?"

Buffy looks over to Alex. "Giles was just explaining about how some demon that he summoned as a teenager to get high had managed to somehow get back here and was hunting down all of his old friends. And him."

Alex looks at Giles, who is nearly turning red in embarrassment and rage. "Buffy, this is my problem and I shall fix it. It is not danger that any of you need face."

Alex uses her hands to make a 'T'. "Hey, timeout here. Giles, you say you summoned this thing, right? That means that it is native to another dimension, and somebody else has summoned it since, which is how it got here to screw with you, correct?"

Giles is still not looking happy, but he nods. "That is correct."

Alex picks up a pen from the table as she continues talking and walking towards the book cage. "And there is no way to save the guy in the cage right? He looks kinda... I'm gonna go with icky and compromised."

Giles hangs his head low. "Yes, that is correct. My friend is now long dead, it is only the animating demon that is left."

Alex shrugs. "Okay then. Do me a favor and don't distract me. This won't be easy."

Then she starts chanting over the pen. For a full minute, in phrases and in a language that none of the others understand and somehow can't even remember, never repeating for the duration. Then she stops, points the pen at the demon in the book cage, waves it once and calls out yet another word that washes through their minds without leaving any trace of it's passing. The bluish light that lances into the book cage envelopes the demon, and then as quickly as the light had appeared both it and the demon are gone.

She turns back around to her friends, who are all staring at her bug eyed. "What?"

Giles glances back into the book cage then to her, his eyes wide. "Did you destroy the demon?"

Alex shakes her head, offering a slight shrug. "Nope. Just dismissed it back to it's home dimension. Sorry it took so long, I had to make a quick temporary item that could cast the spell. And I owe somebody a pen. It got, uh, used up in the process. Sorry about that." She turns to Giles. "We'll hit the books and see if we can come up with a more permanent solution if it ever makes it back, but I figured some breathing room might be nice for now. You guys seemed a little intense."

The tension released, there is some chuckling happening in the room. Though Giles isn't one of those laughing. He owes this child so much, and his slayer owes her even more. But he is going to have to tell the council something, and soon. Them finding out on their own could only be worse.

Author's Note:

I don't own Supernatural. That would be Warner Bros.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Economic Upturns.

Alex still felt weird leaving the door open for Cordelia to follow him in, she had even made it a point to ask Jenny earlier if it was alright and was half hoping that she would say no.

"Okay Cordy, we're here. Now what kind of thing were you looking for? I can make most anything as long as it doesn't require modern equipment to manipulate it. I'm not so familiar with modern plastics and stuff, so polyester and such might be possible, but you could find somebody better to do it. Personally I would rather work in natural fibers, leathers, silks, that kind of thing."

Cordy thinks for a minute. "Well, you made Buffy leather armor, what would it take to get a one-of-a-kind leather jacket? Something unique, and of the best quality?"

Alex nods. "Wouldn't be tough at all. How do you want the fit? Loose? Tight? Skin tight? Pockets? Buttons or Zippers? If buttons, sewn on or riveted? Do you want the cut to conceal or accentuate any particular assets? How long? Biker length or are we looking for more of a duster or a greatcoat? Is standard black okay or are you interested in a more colorful experience when wearing this? I'll probably go with a removable liner for cleaning purposes, would you rather go with silk and have to use a dry cleaners, or would cotton be okay for you? Inside pocket? Special places for phone, time piece, compact? Any other items you carry around regularly? Do you want a soft look or a stiff one? Do you want to put people at ease or be intimidating? Are there any other considerations I should know about such as keeping buttons or rivets from catching on things you use regularly, such as car seats? Are you interested in any kind of additional water or weatherproofing or would you rather handle that yourself, and finally... Don't spread this around, but I can enchant stuff. So if you want to spend a lot of money, there are a few things I could do to this that might interest you."

Cordelia's eyes have been getting wider and wider as Alex rattles off all of these questions, not even bothering to wait for a response to any of them and instead jotting down a shortened version of the questionnaire which she hands to Cordelia at the end along with a pen for her to fill in the answers.

"Like what?" She asks, looking between her and the list in almost a daze.

Alex shrugs. "I am guessing you won't be getting into a lot of combat, but a basic defensive enchantment will help keep it in good shape and is pretty much the required buy-in to get anything else anyway. The most obvious ones that I could see being useful to you are "Called" which allows you to have it appear on you no matter where it is in relation to you on the planet, and incorporating a crystal of adaptation somewhere on the design, hidden or not as your choice, which would make it always comfortable to wear no matter how hot or cold it happens to be where you are."

She looks at Alex incredulously. "You mean I could wear this thing in Death Valley or the north pole and be fine?"

Alex shakes her head. "There are extremes that can overcome it. But assume that if you could be there naked with maybe shoes on for a few minutes without taking damage than this could keep you comfortable indefinitely."

"How much would all that be?"

Alex leans back on the couch. "I won't know for sure on the coat itself until you finish up with that. But unless you think of something you want that I haven't, I can't imagine my material costs going much over a hundred bucks, so call it three hundred maximum? Probably closer to two? For you, at least. I may not be so polite to your stooge crew if you send them my way. The enchantments will run me a couple thousand in materials, so call it three grand to you. No worries if it's too much. I just wanted you to know it was an option so I could design for it if you were interested."

Cordelia puts down the pad of paper. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Alex looks at her. "You and I have always been at each others throats in one way or another, but you've never taken it beyond a certain point. You always respected the line. Not too long ago, you had an opportunity to crush me into the dirt in ways that could be a cautionary tale for freshman for the next thousand years, and you've never touched it. I think you are a selfish, rich, bitchy little stuck up brat most of the time, but when the chips are down, you're good people. I respect that. So, I am trying to be nice. No promises, I might backslide. We got history, after all." This last bit is said with a smirk, and Cordelia's clear laugh rings out.

"Yeah, yeah I guess we do. Three thousand plus the coat is a lot to put up front. Can I pay two thousand now and make payments for a couple of months on whatever is left? I need to keep some cash around. It is neither easy nor cheap to be me."

After considering for a minute, Alex gives her the go ahead. "Yeah, that will be fine. Finish up the questionnaire and I'll introduce you to the girls, we'll get your measurements and stuff. Then if you want to stop by tomorrow, we can do a final fitting and stuff. Just so you know though, it's going to be a couple of weeks before I can get the enchantments done. I'm backlogged at the moment."

"Yeah, I figured when I heard you in the lunchroom. I take it Buffy is getting the full meal deal then?"

Alex shakes her head. "Not really. Right now I am just getting off the ground, so I am trying to get her in something. I'll work on something more substantial down the road. But it is important to me to get her in something better than a t-shirt before she gets hurt out there, you know?"

"Yeah. So, no chance to spend an extra hundred bucks to jump ahead in line then?"

Alex almost gets mad until she sees the impish grin on Cordy's face. Then she offers a grin of her own. "Sure. But it's not 'bucks' it's 'dusted vampires' and I'll only accept my hundred dead in advance, thank you very much."

Cordelia laughs again and then busies herself with the paper in front of her.

A few minutes later the two of them are walking back towards Alex's room.

"So, part of my Halloween thing is that I can make little automaton kinda things that help me with my work. Don't be too shocked when you see them. I won't say they are harmless, but they are part of me. They won't hurt you. Okay?"

Cordelia nods as she walks along behind. "Sure. They're not like, ugly or anything are they?"

Alex offers a shrug as she opens the door. "I think they're cute as hell, but I designed them so I could be biased."

As soon as she walks in she is assaulted by high speed hugging from the three Things, who she has started thinking of as Red, Yellow, and Green. Cordelia is shocked for a few seconds, then peers a little closer and realizes that the three strange hard hat wearing pixies are not actually attacking, but instead showing a love and devotion that far exceeds any dog she's ever owned.

"Okay girls, I need measurements on Miss Chase here. We will be making her a coat tonight."

The three fly back over to the table to collect their tapes, and then begin the measuring, much to Cordelia's amused smile. Alex begins sketching while she is doing that, based on her answers.

As soon as they are done and bring the measurements over, he erases a bit and redraws some. Then hands her the rough sketch.

"So, we are looking at a long coat, but not a greatcoat. It will go down to around mid thigh, will be pretty damn tight above the waist, cinch tight at the waist, and hang somewhat loose bellow that. We're going with reinforced riveted buttons, and lots of them. With as tight as you want it, zippers might be a bad idea. Buttons are more forgiving of that extra piece of cheesecake. Silk liner, you'll like that this stuff feels amazing. I am currently working on a potential device that could maintain and clean clothes magically, I'll let you know how much it is when I get the bugs worked out. We'll be adding a high collar, and the design will make use of both black and crimson leathers with diamond patterns on the arms and a heart on the back. The red suits of a deck of cards, basically, lost in a sea of black. The crystal for your endure elements I am going to make as part of the right breast pocket button, and I'll offset with an identical but not enchanted crystal for the opposite. You went for intimidating, so my plan is to build up the shoulders a touch, and then add some ribbing to the chest and stomach, giving it the general appearance of a corset without the discomfort of one. I also plan to lightly weigh down the bottom of the coat, particularly the back. It will effect the way it hangs and stop it from flaring around your ass under the waist cinch. Anything you can think of that you would like to add?"

Cordelia looks at the well done sketch and measurements in something akin to awe. "No, looks great to me. You can have this done by tomorrow?"

Alex gestures her homunculus, who are already getting out supplies. "They don't sleep, they love making stuff, and they have complete access to my skills to do it. The only reason it is going to take until tomorrow is because I am probably going to need to stop by the craft store in the morning before school to pick up the buttons. Otherwise, this would take the three of them maybe three to five hours at most. I really need to get a real workspace so I can be making my own buttons and stuff. Buying off the shelf is hurting my professional pride."

Cordelia frowns. "So why don't you?"

Alex shrugs as she steps toward the door. "Costs money. Right now all my money is going back into equipment for Buffy."

Cordelia follows her into the living room and then sits while Alex puts a kettle on for tea. Jenny walks in about this time, and smiles when she sees the girls.

"Hello all! How goes the great clothing business venture?"

Cordelia has her brow furrowed and doesn't respond right away. Alex looks up. "Not too bad. I was making some tea and we were going to talk and stuff. Interested?"

Jenny nods. "Yes, please."

Cordelia does look up now, but rather than acknowledge Jenny, turns to Alex who is just now sitting down in the living room.

"I'll need to see what this coat looks like tomorrow to be sure, but if you are as good as Buffy thinks you are I know how to get you your professional workspace. When you go to the store in the morning, buy an extra set of measuring tapes to carry with you to school and after we do the final fit on the coat, I'll probably have you make a second one for eventual enchanting and I'll just wear this one as is. If we are careful, we can make you a bespoke tailor really easy if your skills are what you think and I am beginning to believe they are. For a small percentage, maybe ten percent of net, I can filter you customers that actually have money and taste as well as see to it that anybody who's anybody wants to wear your stuff. Assuming this coat is the cat's pajamas, does that sound good to you?"

Alex looks at her confused, then smiles. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Cordelia gets a wicked grin on her face. "Because you are a poor, loud mouthed, holier than thou smart ass with barely more brains than money but at the end of the day you defend the weak, and would die for a friend. I can respect that."

The two laugh.

Jenny looks like she got halfway to upset and then got sidetracked into confused. It isn't a flattering look, but fortunately neither of her guests notice.

Two weeks, eight coats, three dresses, and one three piece suit later Jenny and Alex are planning to take the weekend to move into their new lodgings, a three bedroom house that includes a high ceiling two car garage that Jenny will be renting with Alex paying half the bills. To say that Cordelia was happy with her coat was something of an understatement, and it brought in considerable business for Alex.

Getting the crew together to help the move is handy, and the fact that Alex once again lives only a couple of blocks from Willow is a thing that keeps a smile on her face.

Alex looks around at the friends that helped them move while Jenny is offering thanks all around.

"I think that's everything. Man this place looks empty. Hey, Buffy. Your armor and shirt are done if you want to try them on again and stuff. You can wear 'em tonight."

Buffy jumps in place a little with a huge smile on her face. "Woohoo! Good times!" She follows Alex into the house and they find the suit and shirt hanging in her closet, where the Dedicated Wrights put it while they were unpacking everything. Buffy, apparently embracing the whole "Xander is a girl" thing more than she wishes her friend would, strips down to her sports bra and panties, then starts putting on the suit. "So, what all did you do to it?"

Alex thinks for a minute. "I assume you want that in like real world terms, not game terms, right?"

Buffy rolls her eyes. "Yup. That would be correct."

Alex nods and get her notes. "Okay then. Well, first I added to the armor. It should help deflect blows better than it would without the enchantment as well, due to a second enchantment. I added a small crystal to the suit that is encased in the chest padding that will see to it that you are always comfortable wearing it, regardless of the temperature. Always an important one in Southern California. The armor is also set up to accept a "called" enchantment that will put it on you instantly wherever you are as long as it is on the same planet and a "glamored" enchantment that will allow it to look like, but not behave like, normal clothes. I kinda ran out of funds, but I can add those later. The silk under shirt will give you some better defense against magic and mind mojo and such, as well as hardening your skin some, natural armor like. Hopefully the silk still feels nice. You were so happy about that I was a little worried." At her smile and nod, Alex continues. "Honestly, I am kinda still operating on a shoestring budget here, but I wanted to give you an out, in case things were truly going to hell for you in the field. The cheapest thing I could do is make the silk shirt a "Bolt Shirt" before I added the other things. So once a day, recharging at dawn, if you look at any point within sixty feet and say "Blitz" it'll teleport you there. Remember, one use a day. Also, it'll leave a trail of electrical sparks, so hit the ground running when you get there, the bad guys will know where you are. Okay?" Alex sits on the bed while Buffy is bouncing around the room getting a feel for the suit. "Just so you know, most of these enchantments are at their most basic level. I just didn't have the money to do more than that. But I can upgrade it all later, maybe during summer when business slows down for you. Also, think about what you want to do about a weapon. Because once I get a couple of combat minions online, maybe four or so,that is going to be the next priority. Month and a half maybe. If I was you I would talk to Giles. See what he says."

Grinning like a madwoman, Buffy turns to give Alex a hug, speaking as she does so. "You know, I had almost given up on reaching twenty. But now? Maybe not so much. Thank you. Can I test the telawhatzit?"

Alex rolls her eyes as Buffy lets go and steps back. "Teleport. Sure, but if you want to show it off to everybody else we should go in the garage and call everyone in there or something. Remember though, only once a day. So if you use it now it won't be there tonight."

"Its okay. I wouldn't want to use it on a patrol if I hadn't experienced it before anyway."

Alex has a hard time arguing with that, so within a few minutes Alex, Jenny, Giles, Willow, and strangely enough Cordelia, who offered to help ostensibly to keep track of her "golden goose" are in the garage, and Buffy stands on one side in her dark green and purple armor for the first time in front of anybody but Alex. She smiles, looks at the far side of the garage, and whispers "Blitz."

With the sound of a crying fuse box, she instantly disappears from where she is standing and reappears on the far side of the garage, in exactly the same pose, though she does back up a pace startled, not realizing how close she would be to the wall. The trail of electrical sparks takes almost two second to fade, and she can still see some of them when she turns around to see that Giles, Jenny, and Willow have all dropped their jaws as though they have fish hooks with lead weights on their lower lips.

Alex looks back at Buffy. "You didn't tell them what it did, did you?"

Buffy is completely unashamed in her glee, and snickers. "Nope."

Giles is looking at her strangely and then turns to Alex. "What was that?"

Alex shrugs, explaining the properties of the shirt again to those that don't know about it.

Giles shakes his head, his wonder causing a smile to spread across his face, likewise with Jenny and Willow.

"That is an amazing gift, even only being able to use it once a night I can see it doing much to increase her survivability. These things you are able to put together are truly exceptional."

Alex just laughs. "Giles, that was just about the cheapest thing I could put together that would do her any good. Wait until I have the time and money to actually get creative."

The look on all their faces makes her wish she had a camera.

It took the full week she had left to get her tools worked out for the attempt at getting Joyce back on board. Along with her tools, she brings a few four inch by four inch and six foot long boards, a large box of scrap cloth and wood from various other projects, some sandpaper, a few jars of quick drying paint in an assortment of colors, and a table to set up on. Joyce meets her at the door of the shop when she opens on Saturday, and helps Jenny and Alex bring in her stuff.

"Look, Alex, my daughter kind of told me why you wanted to do this and I want you to know that regardless of what happens today, I am sorry I didn't just go to you directly with these concerns."

Alex grins at her. "No worries Mrs. S. You have a business to run. If you gotta know, you gotta know, I get it. Now you'll know."

Joyce laughs. "Fair enough. So what were you planning to do with all of this? Every time I ask Buffy, she just smiles and says that I'll love it."

With a laugh, Alex and Jenny set up the folding table. "Well, I have kind of a side business now as a tailor for a lot of the kids I go to school with, and when they heard about this some of them asked if they could come, maybe bring their siblings so they could see how it is done. So I figured I would make puppets, you know, the old school Punch and Judy type only without any Punch or Judy because violence in the home, not of the good. But that style, anyway. I figured if I did something like that I could take requests and give 'em away. It isn't like anything I could put together with this many distractions would be worth selling in a gallery this nice anyway. I'm just hoping to put your mind at ease and maybe have a little fun."

As the first customers are walking in to the very pristine location, Alex is in the process of using a small handsaw to cut squares off the four by four piece of lumber. Instead of it taking minutes, it is taking her between four and six swipes with the saw.

At Joyce's look, Alex shrugs. "It pays to have good equipment."

By the time she is ready with her sewing kit out, carving tools handy, and the store is beginning to fill with close to fifteen children and maybe twenty five teens and adults, she sets out a sign that simply says, "Free puppets, requests please."

The next seven and half hours, a full days work less a half hour spent eating lunch and playing with the children and their puppets, makes a believer out of Joyce. The girl has no wasted movement. Everything she does furthers the task, as though no matter what they ask of her she has done it thousands of times before. The three or four times somebody asks for something she has never heard of, she has Jenny look it up on the store computer and handles another child's request while she is waiting for an idea what she is doing. Then once she has seen a few pictures, she handles the request with a smile as though really, she knew all along and was just kidding around.

She averages an expertly carved, dressed, painted puppet about every twenty minutes, and she lied to Joyce. Any one of them would have easily sold in her shop. Not for the thousands her other pieces would. But for fifty to a hundred and fifty dollars depending on the subject as an expertly crafted wall hanger? No question.

For Joyce, the entire experience that is currently being caught on tape is absolutely humbling. Baffling, but humbling.

When the day is over and a laughing Alex and Jenny are cleaning up sawdust and packing up for the trip home, Joyce is beside herself. Not only does she now have video evidence of the skill this woman possesses that she can show people if they balk at so young a person being a craftswoman of this caliber, but she had her best sale day ever. Granted, none of the truly pricy stuff sold. Many who visited the shop today didn't have that kind of money. But unlike a normal day where on average the shop was lucky to have a dozen customers, today there was over two hundred, and at any time there was only two or three that were tied to the puppetry table. All the rest were asking about pieces, and sometimes buying them.

"Alex, I think it is safe to say you have made your point." Joyce says as she is packing away the video camera that has been going all day. Four tapes on high resolution worth of amazing. "If you are still interested, I would be thrilled to accept your pieces. Though in an effort to avoid problems before they start, I might ask for only one every couple of weeks. Would that be okay?"

Alex just smiles. Selling through the shop will be fun. "Sure thing. I'll bring something to you in a few days. Any requests?"

Joyce flashes a grin of her own. "Surprise me."

Author's note.

Holy Crap. Are you ready for Kendra? I sure as fuck am. I feel like I've been spending entirely too damn long getting this train out of the station. Hope you enjoyed!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Good Ol' DW.

'This, this was an unholy pain in the ass.' Are the words that pass through Alex's mind a month later when she finally manages to finish her first Arbalester. Looking like nothing so much as a crossbow sitting just slightly above a frame with four upwards facing tiny helicopter rotors on it, the resemblance to something that might be purchased in the toy section of the local hobby enthusiasts outlet is undeniable. Every bit of it either stained or painted black, even down to the two feathers on each bolt it carries. The four stumpy little legs underneath it that it is hesitantly waddling around on give it an uncertain gait. It moves in a manner that gives the impression of being quite shy and bashful, though it does move up to Alex and give her a tap on the leg with the forward section of it right bow arm. Uncertain if this is an attempt at a head butt or a high five, Alex simply bends over and picks up the awkward little thing with a smile. The two small onyx that are what it is using for eyes are attached to the bow directly on either side of the line of fire. There are two spindly arms, one on either side of the stripped down stock, that have easy access to the bolts that are kept in racks on either side of the same stock, merely adjusted forward some. With five on either side, plus one in chamber, so to speak, before the thing leaves for battle it will give the little guy eleven shots before he is to disengage and return home at high altitude, so as to escape the notice of whatever might be tracking him.

Finishing the earpieces for both both Buffy and herself was something of a pain as well, as translating a finger ring enhancement to an earpiece enhancement was neither easy nor cheap. Fortunately the original item wasn't hugely expensive and Jenny was able to assist a little bit with the controls on the device. Alex opens the bedroom window to allow for the departure soon of the newest minion, whom she has designated "Drop Waddle" or simply "DW" based on the giggles that overwhelmed her during the poor things first two attempts to fly earlier that day. Fortunately the creature's progress was miraculous on learning this new system that was more or less co-developed between Alex and Jenny.

Alex startles somewhat when she hears a knock on her door.

"Come in."

Jenny appears in the now open doorway and sees Alex cuddling an animated crossbow that is wiggling its tiny feet in desperation trying to move. She can't help but laugh. "So are you going to send him out tonight?"

Alex nods. "Yeah, it's time. Skite is already keeping an eye on her, and I am gonna send out Drop Waddle as soon as it gets dark enough. He's a little more conspicuous."

Jenny smiles. Its good that Buffy finally has some backup. Angel seems to be helping, but at the end of the day he is really just a cursed bloodsucker and Jenny knows that reality better than most. Using him is fine. Trusting him is, at best, foolish. "Can you do something to make it easier for him to get around unnoticed?"

Alex grimaces. "I did actually. It was just crazy stupid expensive. Fortunately it didn't take nearly as long to complete as it could have or there's no way he would be ready for at least another two weeks."

Jenny steps forward. "I see you painted him black. Anything else?"

"Yeah. I rigged him up with a use activated and continual "Silence" that he can turn on when he's flying. Damn thing cost ten grand, and honestly I got lucky. A lot of the stuff to do it was way cheaper here. Buried in his stock is a little toy that he can activate that will make a fifteen foot sphere around him that no sound can enter, exit, or move through in any way. Between that and the black coloring, I am hoping he'll be tough to spot until it's too late. I figured there is no way he could hear anything over the sound of his propellers anyway, and when he and I chat it's mind to mind." Alex shrugs and looks out the window. Seeing that it is nearly full on dark, she opens the window and holds DW out the window while he kicks on his flight system and adjusts his trim. Then he takes off, heading in the direction of the Summer's home.

Alex smirks, laying down on her bed and putting on her earpiece. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Calendar, I am needed on the front lines just now." Then she closes her eyes and activates the ear piece.

"Slayer, this is Q. Come in Slayer."

There is a giggle over the line.

"I thought we were calling me "Queen Empress, Mistress of all and Greatest Everywhere?"

Alex can't help but laugh. "Well, you have enough leather on I am guessing to qualify for the 'Mistress' title but you'll have to look elsewhere for your gimp. Just letting you know that you'll have company tonight."

There is a slight pause. Then Buffy responds, less enthusiastic than Alex might have hoped. "Do we have to start the helping thing tonight? I had plans."

Alex rolls her eyes. "What do you mean, plans. The plan is a Slayer patrol, isn't it?"

"Umm, well, that was going to be part of it yeah. Then Angel and I were going to go ice skating. There's a rink that is closed tonight. It was supposed to be romantic and stuff. I know that's not what you want to hear, but... Can you pretend to be happy for me? Maybe? Just a little?"

Alex groans "So, rather than protecting the denizens of Sunnydale the new plan is to do a little breaking an entering and then go skating with a corpse. Is it low hanging fruit to say that your plan stinks on ice?"

Buffy responds, sounding legitimately hurt enough to make Alex feel like something of a heel. "Damn it Xan... Alex. Why do you have to be like this? Can't you just be happy for me a little bit? Please?"

Alex shakes her head even though nobody can see her. "Fine. I'll fake it. I am going to have Skite and DW follow you from a discrete distance though. Maybe a low intensity shake down run isn't a bad idea anyway."

Buffy considers. She was hoping for smooches, but... "Okay Alex. That's fair. What's DW?"

"I am having him drop down to your level so you can take a look. Be advised that when he gets close, all sound is going to cut out. He has kind of a stealth mode active, otherwise he'd make too much noise."

After bringing DW down to her eye level and letting her walk around him a couple of times he has the new soldier regain altitude.

"Damn Alex, that is freaking cool! Does he do anything else beside fly, shoot, make absolutely no noise, and get lost in the night sky like instantly?"

Alex chuckles. "Well, if you're a evil thing from another dimension, or any kind of undead you really don't wanna get shot by him. But aside from that, no. I think you covered all the basics. You have company on your six. Probably Angel, but its hard to tell from up here. Do me a favor and mute your mic, I don't want to drown in the sap, but leave the unit in. That way if there's trouble I can let you know."

"Sure thing. Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for this. It does feel better knowing there is backup out there."

Alex smiles. "No worries. Glad I could help. Talk to you later, your cold sloppy kisses are almost there."

Buffy rolls her eyes and shuts off the microphone.

Watching the two walk and talk from a hundred feet up does get boring, but they do legitimately complete a circuit of their patrol before breaking off to go to the skating rink. With four vamps dusted, even Alex is willing to admit they probably deserve a break.

But then she get a little more concerned. "Slayer, this is Q, come in Slayer."

There is a few moments of silence, and then Buffy's voice comes over the line. "What's the issue, Q?"

Alex is still trying to get a decent look at this thing through Skite, but it isn't easy. "You have something following you. He's good, keeping to the shadows, but he is definitely following you two. I can't get a look at his face, but be careful. If he's human he's a big motherfucker. My money is on a demon of some sort. I am gonna bring DW down into a good firing range in case things go hot, but I don't want to fire until I know for sure he's a hostile."

Buffy lets out a little growl and then Alex can hear her talking to Angel. "Thanks, Q. We'll check it out."

The two continue their trek to the rink, but rather than going in they instead walk past it and turn into the alley, where they wait. From his vantage point with Skite, their plan is pretty easy to see, so Alex simply follows the guy with DW, about thirty feet up and fifty feet behind him, making a wide turn at the alley to keep him in sight.

Then things all go to hell.

As soon as this big guy sees Angel and Buffy, he slaps Angel across the face so hard that Angel knocks bricks loose in the wall of the ice rink. Then when Buffy comes in to give him a kick to the guts for his trouble, he grabs her foot, throws her against a wall, and as she is trying to get up, grabs her about the throat with both hands.

Then a crossbow bolt slams into his ribs.

The man roars in pain, turning wildly to see where the shot came from as Buffy wriggles free and backs up a few paces. When he isn't immediately able to find his assailant, he turns back to task at hand.

Another bolt impacts his right leg, just above the knee.

Rather than mad, the man is now beginning to look scared. He desperately tries to grab the weapons that are piercing his flesh and at the same time avoid Buffy and now Angel, who are both working him over with punches and kicks. He tries to run away.

A third bolt hits, this one enters his back and it must have perforated something important because the man drops to the ground. He tries crawling away, though he doesn't get far. In the end he is flipped over by Angel, who begins asking him some rather pointed questions. His response is to smile, then begin twitching and foaming at the mouth.

He is dead in minutes.

"Slayer to Q. Thanks for the assist. Listen, we are going to call it a night early I think. Angel found a ring on this guy that has him pretty worried. Assassins from an order of teriyaki or something."

Alex wrinkles her nose. "Teriyaki? What, does he look Japanese or something?"

There is silence for a moment. "No, wait. Angel says Taraka. The order of Taraka. I guess they are supposed to be good at it or something. Anyway, we are heading back and he is going to drop me off at my place. You can call it a night."

Alex rolls her eyes unconsciously. "Look Slayer, I'm gonna follow you home, and then I am gonna put Skite on sentry duty, have DW come back for replacement crossbow bolts, and then he's gonna hang out somewhere over your place until just before dawn too. Make time with your cursed undead American some night that we aren't worried about assassins trying to scrape you off the planet, alright?"

"Damnit Alex, you know what, I hope you do get somebody someday just so I can be just as annoying to you as you are to me."

There is silence for a few seconds. "Hey, do you think that maybe DW could just hang at my place tomorrow? He could hang in my room with the window open, and maybe the little ferret one could keep an eye outside? Dawn gets home a couple hours before either me or Mom."

Alex smiles, thinking of Buffy's firecracker of a kid sister. "Sure thing Buffy. Leave your window open and I'll just have him come in after I get him reloaded. Talk to you tomorrow, but do me a favor and if you aren't close to a phone? Keep that thing on your ear okay?"

There is another short pause, and this time Buffy's response is a lot warmer. "Thanks again Alex. But I still curse you with a... a significant other as soon as possible. So there."

With that, she turns off her mic and the two start heading back to her house, the Slayer occasionally fiddling about with the ring in her hand.

The next day, at school.  
"It isn't fair. I shouldn't have to fill out this stupid thing, I mean, career week? Hello, Slayer. It isn't like I am gonna have a career."

The three, Willow, Alex, and Buffy are lounging around the quad with the paper work that was supposedly going to be showing them what they were going to be doing for the rest of their lives.

Alex isn't quite willing to let that one go. "You think it's stupid for you to fill this out? I already make more money on a monthly basis than any three members of the faculty combined! What exactly am I gonna get out of this besides a big fat nothing? Besides, how is a bunch of garbage questions thought up by a guy that managed to get a government job with his psychology degree going to help us plan our lives? It's just dumb."

Buffy nods, and is obviously opening her mouth to show solidarity, but they are preempted by Willow. "I kinda want to see mine. I think its fun, to see, maybe, what somebody else thinks I could do. I mean, I know my way around computers, but maybe this will tell me I should be an astronaut, or the president!"

Buffy turns to Willow. "I will concede the point if you can tell me any possible way in which..." She glances at her sheet. "Whether or not you love shrubbery could possibly have any impact on whether or not you should be an astronaut."

Willow thinks about it for approximately point two seconds. "Well, if they are looking for somebody to terraform mars, maybe they would look for somebody that knows there way around a shrub. Anything can happen, I mean, I live on a Hellmouth where my best friends are a vampire slayer and a hot artificer that used to be a guy."

Immediately after saying this, Willow stammers something about needing to double check her answers and flees the scene while Alex holds her head in her hands and Buffy tries to stifle her giggles.

"I knew she had it bad, but I didn't realize it was 'ignore sex change' levels of bad."

After a few more moments of holding her face in her hands, Alex turns to Buffy. "Can we just pretend like that never happened?"

Buffy looks at her confused. "Why would we want to do that? She's your best friend. She totally digs you, apparently so much that she wants to, to, do things even now. How could this situation possibly be any better for you? You both like each other. I would say you actually already love each other, you're just being stubborn. She already knows what goes bump in the night, she's crazy smart, we know she has at least a little magic talent, so she can maybe learn what you do, and if not she could totally do her own thing. Lets be honest, you are probably not going to be interested in a guy anytime soon, and the most perfect part of all, you already know that if you get turned back, she will still be all over you."

Buffy looks the direction that Willow went. "She is so perfect for you it's practically a flashing neon sign saying 'Alexis Should Date Willow." Looking back at Alex, she concludes simply. "So, what's the problem?"

"We're both girls?"

Buffy shakes her head. "Nope. Calling BS. You had the same problem, whatever it is, when that wasn't the case. Try again."

Alex looks at the ceiling for a few seconds. Praying for an interruption. For a bell to ring, or Snyder to show up and be all Snyderly, or the jocks to throw something at... Well, actually the jocks didn't actually pick on her any more. But since what they did was actually worse, that wasn't much of a consolation...

"Hey, I said try again, not stare at the ceiling and pray for death. C'mon. We're all girls here and you are obviously in pain about this. You got stuck with all the shit that goes with being a girl. You may as well get the perks too."

Alex glares back at her. "She deserves better than me. She's my Willow. She deserves a prince charming, not some guy that has to sleep on the roof of the house come Christmas Eve every year because his parents are so damn blind drunk that they'll beat him half to death if they see him, okay? She doesn't need to get stuck with some punk loser that gets a C- average only because she's willing to tutor his dumb ass. I'll tell you another thing for free, she deserves to get the hell out of Sunnydale and away from all this bullshit, go to a great college, learn to make awesome computers, or cure the common cold, or be a damn astronaut shrubbery expert. And she's not gonna get any of that hanging around with some dipshit who's only claim to fame is that magic and supernatural gunk screws up around him so regularly and catastrophically that he cringes every time he sees a pig on TV and can now get a job at any strip joint in the nation just by walking on the lot. Is that enough sharing? Am I a real girl now?"

With that, Alex gets up and turns to walk away, only to see a white faced Willow standing there with tears running down her face.

"Oh god, Willow, how long were you there?"

The sobbing redhead points at her quiz on the table, which she apparently forgot in her haste to retreat earlier.

Not knowing what to do, but knowing that doing nothing is not acceptable when confronted with a crying Willow, Alex wraps an arm around her shoulder and brings her back to the bench to sit, attempting to smother her tears in a hug while she glares poisoned daggers at Buffy's retreating form.

Authors Note:

So, yeah. That happened.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

And then there was one.

It's almost twenty minutes before Willow finally calms down, and by then the two of them have picked up an interested group of spectators who are lurking at the thirty to forty foot distance from the pair. Not quite rubbernecking, but too intrigued to leave the area.

Alex is trying to figure out just how she is going to deal with this in such a way that she manages somehow to keep both her friends and not have to murder half the school for being unconscionably rude, when Willow finally takes a shuddering breath just in time for the bell to ring.

As everybody else is getting their books and notes together, she puts a hand on either side of Alex's face. Her still tear streaked face is set in a look Alex knows far to well, as it signifies when she has dug in her heels and will not be denied. Her so-called "resolve face." She pulls Alex's face close and lightly brushes Alex's lips against her own. Less a touch of affection, more of an experiment. Then her eyes slowly close and she pulls Alex in for a chaste kiss, though on the lips.

Alex is blushing to the roots of her hair, just like Willow is, but all the strength seems to have left her limbs. As much as she feels she should stop this, she can't find it in herself to do it.

Willow then releases her head, but pulls her in for a final hug and whispers fiercely but lovingly in her ear. "If I ever hear you talking about yourself like that again, I'll... I don't know what I'll do but you won't like it."

With a final snort that tries to clear her sinuses from the results of her emotional outburst, Willow stands and offers her hand to Alex.

It would be hard for Alex not to notice that she doesn't let go until they are walking into their last class of the day.

In the library after class, Alex is sitting at the library table across from Buffy and next to Willow. Willow and Buffy are both talking a mile a minute and Willow grabbed Alex's hand as they walked into the room again an hasn't let go.

Buffy knew. She knew that Willow was standing there. Willow knows that Buffy knew. They may not have planned that exactly, but they had planned something and Buffy just rolled with it when the opportunity came up, is the impression Alex is getting. Which means...

Which means they set her up. The two of them set her up, Buffy pushed until she wasn't thinking and then Willow made it a point to be standing there to hear it. Apparently the only thing they hadn't counted on is what she would say.

Based on the looks she is getting occasionally from Buffy, she really hadn't counted on that.

'boss'

Now what the hell are they talking about, anyway? She hasn't been paying attention for like the last ten minutes.

'Boss!'

Alex realizes that Skite is trying to get her attention and closes her eyes.

'Report, Skite. What's up?'

There is a slight pause and then there is an image played for her, with a running commentary. The image is of a smaller gentleman leaving the window of the second floor across the street, then appearing at the door below and starting to cross the street to what Alex realizes is Buffy's house.

'Boss, this person watched slayer's house all day, and now that slayer sister home he comes to her. Now what?'

Alex's eyes snap open and she steamrolls whatever their current conversation is. "Buffy! Call your sister and tell her not to answer the door. Do it right now!"

The Slayer's eyes meet hers in silent confusion for a split second, and then panic hits her face like a bucket of ice water and she all but leaps into Giles' office to use the phone.

Alex closes her eyes again.

'DW. Report.'

As the Arbalester type isn't particularly designed to be social, his report is more in images than anything else. Most of the day was quite boring. Somebody came into the room not long ago and took something from Buffy's closet. Fortunately DW was hiding under the bed at the time. Report ends.

'There is a man approaching that we believe is probably bad. Prepare for combat. Coordinate with Skite. Do not fire until given permission to or you are attacked. Understood?'

The image of an upraised thumb fills her view and Alex can't help but smile. DW may not be a social powerhouse but he had a charm all his own.

Buffy is at this point running back out into the room. "I told her, somebody started knocking while I was on the phone with her. Who the heck is it?"

Alex shakes her head. "I don't know but according to Skite He's been watching your house all day from the second story across the street."

Buffy blinks as Giles is getting his keys from the office.

"And he's only mentioning this now?"

Alex looks a little abashed. "He's only like two months old, give 'em a break."

Giles gives the keys a jingle and Buffy sprints towards the door with her watcher. Willow starts to run after them but stops when Alex sits back down.

"What are you doing? They're leaving!"

Even with all the craziness that has happened this day, Alex can't help the smirk that forms.

"Yeah, but I'm already there."

Skite flashes him a sensation. An audio and visual bit of nightmare fuel. The man is feeding himself into the house through the mail slot. He seems to be becoming... maggots. Maggots or some other kinda weird little wormy bug.

That could be a problem for DW. He really only has two specialty bolts right now, and neither is the kind of thing you want to use around a friend's house. The scream though, Dawn's scream makes the decision for her.

'DW, we have a hostile at the front door. Try the green tip, maybe we'll get lucky.'

Alex moves her view to the crossbow platform as it exits the window and with breathless ease moves around the house while loading a different bolt. As soon as it has the shot, the bolt is released.

When Alex was considering different ways to make the Arbalester more effective on the cheap, the idea of specialty crossbow bolts was something that came to her. To many years of watching the Dukes blow things up with bows an dynamite, she supposes. Due to the nature of the delivery system, the amount of substance that she had to work with was small. The red tip bolt is a small amount of alchemists fire. A peculiar substance that needs to stay bottled up once it stabilizes, as contact with the open air will cause it to explode into flame quite violently. Thinking that such a thing just had to be tried against the vamps, she produced one and it sits on the bottom of the left hand rack. The other, the green, is acid.

The shot passes through the man as though he isn't even there and hits the door. But then, the delicate acid filled chamber that fills the bolt collapses against it's own weight and the sticky, sizzling green slime sprays out of the holes in the shaft of the rapidly disintegrating projectile and begins to damage everything within five feet.

The effect on maggot man is profound. He collapses into a pile of writhing worms that seems to be mostly trying to painfully disperse from the effected area as quickly as possible. The number that died in the acid wash is beyond counting, but it seems to be that at least half or more of these things were protected from the acid by the bodies of other worms.

Alex picks a spot on the sidewalk far enough away from the house not to damage it, but close enough to nail the majority of the bugs that remain.

'Fire red tip here on my mark, then retreat to Buffy's room quickly.'

As DW is reloading and lining up the shot, Alex contacts Buffy via the earpiece.

"Slayer this is Q, come in Slayer."

"I'm here, we're almost at the house what's going on?!"

"It's some kind of hive bug thing. They were getting into the house through the mail slot, so I had DW use splash damage on him to keep him from Dawn. Try not to touch anything that's smoking. Nasty acid. Right now the bugs are squirming away. Think you can handle it or do you want me to burn them?"

"No, We're here. Keep an eye on things."

So she does. 'DW. Stand down. Return to station under Buff's bed.'

'Skite, take up sentry duty and report anything unusual.'

Alex opens her eyes when she feels a light tug on her shoulder. Willow is sitting next to her in the darkened room, having turned off the lights and locked the door.

"What's going on? Is everybody okay?"

Alex nods, then gives her a brief retelling of what has transpired.

"So you saved Dawn then. I mean, without you we wouldn't even have known what happened."

The look of adoration in her eyes is making Alex decidedly uncomfortable. When she leans down to continue the kiss they started earlier, Alex still finds that as much as she feels she shouldn't be here, like this, doing this... She just can't bring herself to make it stop. Scooting her chair closer, Willow rests her head on Alex's shoulder and they both just sit for a few minutes, each in their own way trying to figure out what's going on.

"Slayer to Q, come in?"

Alex jerks from her state of deep thought concerning largely how much a naked Willow might have changed since they were seven. She finds herself whispering her response in the hopes to not bother Willow.

"I'm here."

There is a slight pause. "I thought we were doing the radio thingie? Whatever. Look, we have most of them handled and Giles says that if this is what he think it is, it'll take months at least for it to rebuild it's colony from this even assuming it survives. But we were wondering if you could help us with the damage, since you're fix-it girl. We've got about two hours until mom gets home and your acid did a number on the door."

"Probably more than just the door. It was designed for around a five foot burst. Probably easiest to just replace the door itself, but wash up the walls and door frame and check in your basement for leftover paint. Send Giles back here to pick me up and we'll head to the hardware store."

"If we replace the door she'll know, though."

"There won't be any way to hide this, but if we replace it we remove the evidence and she'll have to believe whatever story we give her. Besides, I have an idea."

Alex can almost see the eyebrows of the slayer rise.

"Okay Alex. As long as this isn't some kind of revenge for earlier."

Alex smiles. "Oh, don't you worry. That's coming. But I wouldn't shit on your home life. You know that."

The light laugh that comes over the earpiece does a lot to ease the tension. The happy sounds that Willow is making as she listens in and is getting the impression that her best friends are still friendly with each other does a lot to help her mood too.

"Alright. Giles is on his way, he'll meet you out front."

Thankfully, it isn't difficult to convince Joyce that the damage that caused them to need to do some repainting and replace the door was due to Alex misunderstanding the directions included with her new pressure washer, especially when Alex is still working on the back of the house when she gets home. Convincing Dawn that it wasn't really a maggot man but actually stuff that was living in the door that got force out by the pressure washer was only accomplished because the young girl so desperately wanted to believe it that her mind glossed over the bulk of the details.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. S. I just got the settings backwards for siding and concrete. But I fixed it, so it's okay, right?"

Joyce is looking at the obviously contrite young woman in confusion.

"I'm not mad, and you have obviously cleaned up your mess. So that's fine. I just can't figure out why you decided to pressure wash the house."

Running through the rehearsed near truth, Alex pauses a beat before responding. "Well, you've done a lot for me and my career. So when I saw how badly it needed it, I just thought I would do it for you as a surprise. So... SURPRISE! Oh, and a new door. SURPRISE again! In the interest of, umm, full disclosure though it may have also been my excuse to buy a pressure washer I have been wanting to clean my forge area in the shop."

Joyce smiles, nodding. That sounded a bit more like the teen she knew. Wait a second...

"Forge? You went from no ability to work metal to a full on forge?"

Alex just shrugs. "I always had the ability. Then I just didn't have the tools. I have been upgrading my shop with some of the money I've been making lately."

Joyce smiles the smile of the cat that caught the canary. "So does this mean I can expect metal masterpieces soon?"

Alex gives a nod. "Probably. I should get home though. It's late, I'm hungry. See you tomorrow, Buffy, take care Mrs. S!"

About two hours later as Alex is getting ready for bed, her earpiece keys up.

"Slayer to Q, you listening in?"

Since Buffy doesn't sound like the situation is an emergency, Alex slides her recently cleaned body between the custom silk sheets that she had Yellow make yesterday before she responds. The feel of it against her skin makes her sigh in contentment. She'd held off on bothering with it until she had sorted out the device to maintain and clean the expensive material with magic, but now that she had a prototype, being the designer had it's privileges. Who knew that the garbage zero-level spells "Mending" and "Prestidigitation" could be combined into a devise housed by an old mini-style hair dryer that had the cord removed to make the ultimate clothing and cloth products cleaning and maintenance device ever developed by anyone ever? Thanks to the other effects of "prestidigitation" the thing will even fold stuff and make the bed tight enough to bounce a quarter off of. It's really too bad she can't sell this one, she could make ten times the material costs back on each, and when you consider the device itself was three thousand to make, that adds up quick.

"Yeah, I'm here. Heading out?"

There is a slight pause and the sound of hangers being dragged back and fourth on a rack. "I'd like to be, but I can't find the silk shirt. Does it fall apart after awhile or something?"

Alex grins. "No, but you might check your sister's room. DW saw her digging around in your closet when she got home from school."

There is a growl from the earpiece and then silence for about ten minutes. When Buffy comes back to the line she is not happy, but not as angry as Alex might have assumed.

"The poor kid was sleeping in it, crying. Not sure why she originally borrowed it, but it is a comfort deal now. She was pretty upset that I wanted it back. Can you make her one of her own?"

Alex offers a half smile to the darkness. "Yeah, that can happen. Same thing exactly?"

Buffy considers for a minute and then responds. "You might make it a little bit bigger if she is going to use it as sleep wear. I might also need one of those cleaner dealies you were telling Willow about here at the house when you get a chance, if there is going to be more silk in the house. Incidentally, silk sheets? Nice."

Alex thinks about it while she grins. "I can do that. It'll be awhile for the cleaner though, I am finishing up your belt and boots now. It'll be another three days or so for the boots and another four or five for the belt. Then I think we are going to skip ahead to your weapon. Between Skite as a lookout and Drop Waddle as a delivery system I shouldn't need much more for now, and getting you the rest of your basic set is more important."

There is silence for a few seconds as Buffy finishes putting on her armor. "When can we finish up the other two features on the armor? The one where it appears on me and the one where it can look like normal clothes?"

"After the weapon. Then unfortunately anytime I want to upgrade it'll be out of service for a week or more. As the bonuses get bigger, the cost and time restrictions skyrocket. Probably wait on that until I can offer a bit more backup. You ready?"

Alex can almost hear the grin in Buffy's response. "You bet, lets go!"

It is a pretty standard patrol, all things considered. The two of them chat, Buffy under her breath to avoid looking like a loon, and for the most part Buffy slays things while Alex provides support in the form of being her eye in the sky and occasionally giving Drop Waddle the go ahead to nail a fleeing vamp. In five shots taken, he only manages to dust once, but in every case the Vampire ends up dusted. Apparently even vampires find it difficult to ignore big pieces of pointy wood sticking out of their bodies, particularly with the extensive extra damage done by the enchantments on the crossbow. Once they have stumbled to a halt to deal with the painful intruder, their fate is sealed by the Buffinator.

After a time though, Buffy stops by an old crypt. "Hey, have you seen Angel anywhere tonight?"

"Nope. Was he supposed to meet you here or something?"

There is silence for a moment. "Yeah. That was the plan."

"Well, no Angel but you do have someone creeping in on your position. I'm guessing a female in her mid to late teens. Dark skinned. She passed under a streetlight that was cycling or I wouldn't have gotten that for you, she's pretty good at staying out of the light but I think that one caught her by surprise."

"She a vamp?"

Alex considers. "I've got no way to know for certain, that might be something to look into actually. But the circumstantial evidence is pretty overwhelming. Creeping around a Hellmouth at night and avoiding the light while you stalk a teenager isn't exactly what you put on your resume for an office gig."

Buffy rolls her eyes as she stands from the gravestone she was lounging on. "And yet it is so much of what I do. Okay. Keep an eye out for me. I am gonna go say hi."

What follows is less saying hi and more the two doing their level best to kill each other for about five minutes while Alex frantically tries to line up a shot with DW. Easier said than done with the two of them jumping around like lunatics.

Eventually, they stop for a moment. Both out of breath. Buffy, out of frustration, finally asks.

"Who in the heck ARE you, anyway?!"

The girl looks at her with barely disguised loathing. "I am Kendra. The Vampire Slayer."

Author's note.

Okay people. Fair warning, up to this point I have been fairly kids gloves with the original plots and characters. That is probably gonna come to a crashing and disastrous halt starting next chapter and continuing on as things go, so if you would prefer to stop here and keep all your nostalgic warm fuzzies all safe and sound please feel free. You won't hurt my feelers if you do.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

What? You expected facts?

A short comedy of conversational error later, and it becomes clear that while Kendra knew that Buffy existed, she didn't know that this was Buffy. Equally obvious is that Buffy had no clue about Kendra on either count.

Buffy made it a point to leave her mic on during the talk, and after warning Buffy that she was going to do so, Alex calls Giles.

There is a bit of a laugh in the voice of Rupert Giles as he answers his phone, though that ends quickly enough when he realizes who is on the line. "Giles residence, Rupert speaking."

Alex silently thanks whatever gods might be listening and prays that he can sort this out.

"Hey, Giles, Buffy is out on patrol and got in a fight with somebody named Kendra. They just did the equivalent of ten rounds in five minutes and then they bothered to talk. Giles, She says she's the Slayer. So, what did I miss in the whole "One girl in all the world" speech?"

The receiver is covered, Alex assumes by a hand, and there is a short, loud argument that she can't make out. Then Giles once again speaks to Alex. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I would ask that you pass along my request that the two of them come to my flat at their earliest convenience. Should it matter to Kendra, you can inform her that her Watcher, Mr. Zabuto, is currently enjoying my hospitality with a thoroughly annoying smirk on his face."

Alex thinks about that for a second.

"You mean this asswipe brought a second slayer on the Hellmouth and didn't bother to tell you? Is he trying to help the bad guys?"

Giles is obviously speaking through gritted teeth when he responds. "I will pass that information along as soon as I have a satisfactory answer myself. If there is nothing else, please pass my request along to Buffy."

Shaking her head, Alex hangs up the phone by her bedside and keys up the mic again. "Q to Slayer. The G-man requests your presence and that of your friend at your earliest convenience. I get the impression that your earliest convenience should be immediately. Also, you can let Kendra know that Zabuto is hanging out with Giles at the moment. I'll watch your back."

Kendra, getting perhaps understandably annoyed at being ignored, speaks to Buffy.

"Who is it dat you talk to in your little toy dere?"

Buffy offers a smirk. "Just a friend. I am being asked to head back to my watcher. Apparently a Mr. Zabuto is there too, and wants you to come along."

With that, Buffy turns and starts waking away.

"How do you know my watchers name? Why should I trust you?"

Buffy doesn't even bother to turn around, knowing that if she tries anything, she'll hear about it from Alex. "Fine. Don't come. Doesn't matter to me."

Finding herself being left alone in the cemetery isn't bothersome. But Kendra is finding it highly annoying that she lost control of the situation here somehow and doesn't even know how it happened. Hurrying after Buffy, she decides that silence might serve her best until her watcher can straighten things out.

Meanwhile, at Giles place.

"So, Zabuto. Care to explain to me why you brought a second slayer to my Hellmouth without telling me? Or why the bloody damned council decided I didn't need to know there was a second slayer to call on?"

The tall, slender, black man smiles and the brightness of said smile against the near coal black of his skin sets Giles back, as it always does. Sam Zabuto is a friend. A good watcher, and dedicated to the fight against evil. But what he has done here is all but condoning negligent homicide.

"Calm yourself, Rupert. These are but two of the topics that I must discuss with you this evening. Though, should it make you feel any better I had forbade my slayer from leaving the hotel until we had a chance to speak. I suspect that the curiosity of being on the actual Hellmouth got the better of her. I will have to have very strong words with her, later."

Sam sips daintily from the tea that Giles provided. As always, the sight of this stretched out lanky black man using a grip complete with pinkie up that the queen herself would be proud of brings a slight smile to Giles face.

"I want you to know at the outset that when I was told, I was against you not being made aware of the second slayer. There were those on the council that were concerned that if you knew, you would look at this as a way to retire your own charge if there seemed to be any diminishing in her abilities, and they wanted to attempt to make some progress in the fight for once, instead of this thrice damned holding action we have dealt with for centuries. Frankly, I can understand their point. You have always been quite protective of your charge and her little groupies. Had her power been stripped, obviously she would be pulled from service with thanks. But since that did not happen, well. You can imagine the senior councils stance on things. I'll not bore you with repeating it."

He takes another sip as Giles considers. Yes, he can well imagine their take on it. As long as she has the strength of a slayer, they will never leave her alone.

"As for why Kendra is here, the Council has tracked William the Bloody and Drusilla the Mad to the Hellmouth. Frankly, we aren't sure what they are up to, but whatever it is, it cannot be good. With two of the remaining three of the Scourge of Europe on your doorstep, plus the general Hellmouth bothers to go with it, it was felt that you might need a bit of help until they were put to dust or had left town."

Sam at this point sighs, and his eyes which had looked everywhere in the room but into those of Giles up to this point finally settled on him.

"The situation might not have called for me at all, except that there has been some concern about discrepancies and inconsistencies in your reports for the last month or two. A slip here or there they can ignore. Everyone does it, on accident or by design to protect an asset, say. But Giles. You had to know that when you described a spell caster able to somehow banish the likes of Eyghon, your own personal nemesis, and then you refuse to offer the name of your benefactor? Anywhere else on the planet, they might have been willing to ignore such a thing, as a courtesy. But an unknown quantity with that kind of power cannot be allowed to stay unknown on an active Hellmouth. You know this, Giles. I shouldn't have to be here to explain such things to you! Combine such an unknown with two master vampires the likes of William and Drusilla... You know the council is not a fan of circumstances. Frankly, had I not volunteered to come here and request an accounting as a friend, there was talk of pulling you back to England for an inquiry and replacing you here. You are a good man, Rupert. A good watcher and a staunch fighter against the evil that plagues the land. But we both know what would happen to you at an official inquiry, Ripper."

Giles' eyes widen as he feels the trap close around his neck. His options are becoming few. He can lie to Sam, always a risky proposition even were the victim of such a less shrewd man than Sam most assuredly is. He can leave the council, likely have his green card revoked and be back in London by spring break. He can refuse to answer, which will see him facing an inquiry that would almost assuredly go poorly for him. The rampage of his youth that earned him the unfortunate nickname Sam had taunted him with would be brought up without a doubt. Or he could throw Xander, now Alex, to these wolves and pray he could be forgiven by whatever is left when they were done with her. He is silent for a few moments. Then he looks at Sam. He looks at the man hard.

"Sam, I must ask. Do you trust me?"

Sam nods, though it must be said he does so hesitantly.

"I trust you to believe you are doing the right thing, Rupert. I do not trust anyone to always know what the right thing is."

Giles gives him a nod. That is a fair answer, and legitimately more than he expected.

"I require two days to confer with and explain things to the person I probably owe my life to."

Sam looks at him oddly. "That is not the way this works, Giles."

Giles cuts him off before he can continue. "That is how it works this time or you may as well wait a few minutes while I quickly pen my resignation for you."

Sam's eyes go wide and he jerks in his chair at the tone in the words he is hearing. 'My dear Giles,' he thinks as he studies his old friend. 'Who is it that has such power, yet you feel you are honor bound to protect so fervently?'

"Very well, you'll have your two days. Giles, please, I am your friend, whatever else you may think of me at the moment. Don't make me regret this."

When the Slayers arrive shortly thereafter, Sam makes some noise about the two patrolling together tomorrow evening in their efforts to find the two master vampires that are in town and then He takes Kendra and leaves.

Giles accepts her report and explains about William the Bloody and Drusilla the Mad being in town. Then he asks that she make sure to have Alex with her in the library come afternoon as soon as school lets out for the day. She offers him a confused nod, but heads home.

"Slayer to Q, did you get all that?"

Alex yawns. These late nights are getting to her a bit. She doesn't have the freaky slayer constitution to do this all the time. Though being in her bed while doing it probably isn't helping her on the staying awake front.

"Yeah, I heard it. So, the council sent somebody and now he wants to make sure to talk to me. I'll give you ten to one odds on a fifty dollar bet that part of the reason he's here is to investigate little old me."

Buffy sighs. "Yeah, no bet. Things were going so good, too. Stupid council. Stupid rules."

Alex thinks about it. "Wait, your talking about those rules where you have to work alone? Didn't I already disprove that crap when I wrecked a prophecy and literally brought you back from the dead?"

Buffy rolls her eyes at the stupidity of the world. "Yeah, and thanks again for that by the way. I know you didn't need to go with Angel. I'm just really lucky you did, since he told me he couldn't have done the CPR that saved me."

Alex is laughing so hard she almost chokes on her own spit when she finds herself having to sit up.

"Q? Are you okay?"

Alex gets herself under control. Barely.

"Oh, god that is some funny shit right there. Dead boy never bothered to tell you why he was there, did he? Buffy, both him and Giles were so sure you were doomed that they sat around on their worthless asses and waited to hear you were gone. I had to go to Angel's place and basically guilt trip the idiot into showing me where to go. As far as he was concerned, you were already dead. Ask him sometime what actually happened. I'd be curious to know if he admits the truth or just lies to your face."

Buffy has stopped walking. She wants to deny it. But thinking back, had Angel ever said anything that would contradict this? Or had he just avoided the conversation? Usually with a kiss. She starts walking towards home again, though a bit slower.

"I'm a little curious myself. I probably will ask him. Why did you come after me, anyway? I mean, don't get me wrong I am totally glad you did. But it was crazy dangerous for you."

Alex, having finally managed to get control of the last of her giggles, is sipping a bit of water from the glass on the bedside table before she answers.

"I have fairly compelling evidence it was pretty dangerous for anybody, Buff. But you're my friend. What kinda friend would I be if I let you walk into hell alone? Besides, anytime I get worried about whether or not I am doing the right thing in a dangerous situation, I just think 'What Would Buffy Do?' And... then I do a slightly more sane and less physically demanding version of that."

Buffy can't help but giggle at that a little bit. "Thanks again for the assist, Alex. Home now though. Can I borrow Skite and DW again tomorrow?"

After sending out the commands to his homunculus, she responds.

"Sure thing. Leave your window open though. I need to reload Drop Waddle for his guard duty, so he'll be making a trip here real quick. Sleep tight, Slayer."

"You to, Q. Hey, that rhymes!" Her transmission cuts out immediately after that, mid giggle.

A few minutes later, DW hovers into the room and sets down on the floor, where Green gives him a quick cleaning and checks him for wear, then reloads him. Then he leaves, a sense of pride in his little mechanical heart. He was useful. He was loved. He was needed. If there was anything better, it was probably a lie as far as he was concerned.

The next day at school.

Willow looks at Alex curiously as she approaches the big board that supposedly has everyone's future dream job on it. "So what did you get?"

Rolling her eyes, Alex responds. "Something called 'Artistic Expression and Interior Design.' How they got that from my answers I have no idea, because I just made a wavy pattern with the bubbles. My personal theory is that somehow Joyce and our arts teacher are conspiring against me. We may have to get Buffy involved with the teacher. Wouldn't be the first time."

Willow rolls her eyes at Alex's answer and then makes a move to go look at the board. Alex stops her.

"You're not up there. I checked."

Willow looks very much like she had just been told her dog had died.

In a blender.

That was also full of babies.

"Really? But I filled it all in, I even double checked to make sure all the little circles were full so the scanner wouldn't have trouble."

Buffy's voice pops up from behind them both.

"No Trouble Willow. You can join me for mine. I might need a witness or an alibi or something anyways."

Willow looks confused, and Alex grins having already seen it.

"Did you get bank robber or something? Is that a thing you can get?"

Buffy laughs.

"Nope. I got police officer. Woman. Whatever. Kinda not my thing. My plan is to participate until Snyder is done being a jerky jerk-face and watching my every move and then I am going to disappear into the library. Giles said he had an entry in one of his books on worm dude and I wanted to take a look. In case there are more grub assassins inbound."

Alex immediately looks at her. "See, now that is important. That is life saving. That is not interior design. That is what we should all be doing right... after we get done with this lovely career fair put on by the bestest principal ever." Willow and Buffy both look at her like she may have been dropped as a child. More than once. "Oh, sorry sir. I didn't see you there, standing behind Buffy like you were."

The two turn around and see that Snyder has come within millimeters of invading Buffy's personal space.

"I'll be watching you Summers. You and your little pack of felons in the making." He turns to Alex. "It's sad, too. After some of the things I had heard from your art teacher I had hoped that maybe you might be better than this."

Alex makes it a point to looks nervous. "Felons, sir? I don't want to get into any kind of trouble." Alex backs up a step. "Do you think they're dangerous?"

Snyder has a look on his face as though Christmas and St Valentines day had a kid and then chained her under his desk to keep him company on long days of filling out paperwork on malcontent idiots.

"Oh, yes. Summers is our resident bully and probable arsonist while Willow here was once joined at the hip with the most worthless scrap of flesh ever to darken my doors. Thankfully, he's been listed as missing or dead. Maybe she can straighten out now and fly right without that albatross tied to her neck.

Willow watches the blood drain from Alex's face and takes his hand to lead her away to the girls restroom, the one place of respite from the vile little man.

Shortly after their escape from the principal, Willow is requisitioned by a man in a business suit to go see some kind of special presentation with a senior named Daniel. A nice enough guy, though one known for having hair and nails of any color at any time and being able to justify it by being in a band.

Right after that, Alex gets shanghaied into the room that has been set aside for her.

Well, she's right. It must have been Joyce behind it, because it's Joyce in the room.

"Heya Mrs. S." Alex looks around. "So... What are we doing here?"

Joyce just smiles. "The school was looking for professionals in town to assist, and thinking of you I offered if they would make sure that you ended up with me. It wasn't a difficult sell, really. They would have had to gone to Los Angeles to find anyone more qualified. That covers what I am doing here. What you are doing here is listening for another..." She glances at the wall clock behind her and then back to Alex. "Forty eight and a half minutes. You have all the talent to make a huge splash, but there are a number of pitfalls that you'll need learn to navigate, and frankly, you are worth the effort. Also, doing it this way you actually have to listen. I know how teenagers work."

Alex grins. "Okay Mrs S. Shower me with the wisdom of the not-very-aged-and-still-looking-good-thank-you-very-much."

What follows is nearly an hour of hearing about shyster art dealers, museums that will offer the moon and then plead poverty, the need to always ask for half up front on all commissions, and many, many other tricks of the trade that Joyce believed would serve her well in the coming years. Some were obvious in hindsight and others the kind of mistakes that an artist might make their whole life if it wasn't pointed out to them. Once they are getting close to their time, Joyce waves her off to leave as she apparently has the "actual" group coming in next, and they are unlikely to be nearly as fun.

Checking the clock again as she walks out the door, Alex heads over to the station where Buffy should be meeting her cop, expecting that Willow would be heading there as well.

She is still pretty far away when the shot rings out. At her new shortened height it is tough to see what is going on, and with everyone running away from the gunfire and into her, it only makes it harder. Then she makes it clear. She sees Willow, on the floor. Sitting, with the hand of another student in her lap, tears again rolling down her face as Buffy sprints down the hallway after somebody, most likely another assassin. As she approaches, Willow looks up.

"He, he pushed me out of the way. He just saw the gun was going to hit me when Buffy ducked and he pushed. He saved me, Alex, can, can you?"

Sadly, Alex has to shake her head. Even if she had been here when it happened she doubted she could have saved the guy. Even with magic, it's tough to beat a bullet hole that goes in one side of the skull, and out the other. She kneels in front of Willow and her savior, some memory from a past life making her run her hand over his eyes and mumble a short prayer. Sorry, Oz.

Author's note.

Well, given the admittedly minimal, but still noticeable dissatisfaction I got in the comments concerning the Alex/Willow pairing, I can only imagine what this is gonna bring down.

But really, as much love and respect as I have for Seth Green as an actor and a creator, the character Oz was more or less a placeholder for "Willow's Romance Option" until Tara showed up when all was said and done. Even Seth admitted by the end that he wasn't doing much for the show, saying that his character was always better in small doses. Take away the relationship with Willow, and pretty much what he brought to the group was... Access to a van? Some dry wit? The occasional scene of some manner of quirky off beat comedy related to his lycanthropy? (Oddly full today?)

Long story short, I don't need him here. Sooo... Buh-bye!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Dust in the wind.

It is almost six in the evening before the crew manages to meet at Jenny and Alex's house, having all made statements for the police and then had to sit around as between Buffy being directly involved and Willow with Alex having been the closest to the victim that died, they all had whole books of questions to answer. They are all tired, all wrung out. To top it off Joyce, while she has allowed Buffy to come over to 'console Willow and Alex' is expecting her daughter home by nine and Buffy isn't liking her odds of getting out tonight to patrol.

Giles is the first to speak up to the group sitting around the living room.

"Buffy, just explain what happened."

One eye-roll later, Buffy begins speaking.

"I walked up to the table for the kids that scored as "Cop" and she called my name. I answered that I was there. She pulled her gun and fired. I ducked, then attacked. I don't think she was expecting that or things might have gone worse for me. I am guessing it was that first shot that killed Oz, since after that I think everybody had pretty much hit the deck. I did see a ring on her finger Giles, but I swear I didn't see it until after she fired. She mush have hidden it somehow."

Giles nods, looking thoughtful. "It is a known occurrence among their ilk. The woman got away as well, as I understand the story that was bouncing around the school."

Buffy grimaces at that point. She had tried so hard to run her down, but she kept coming up with guns and running, finally managing to slip into a car a few blocks away and peeling out while Buffy was stuck hiding behind cover.

"Yeah. Can I just say Giles, that I still really hate guns."

Nodding in sympathy Giles simply agrees by way of a look and patting her shoulder with his hand.

"As important as this is, however, I am afraid I have some bad news that will probably have to take precedence. Alex, I have... Well, I have not lied in my reports to the council concerning you, but I have been less than forthcoming with details such as your identity, or the specifics of the items you have been making. Merely noting that a crafter of magical paraphernalia had set up shop on the Hellmouth. Nothing terribly unusual about that, as long as the power of the items is not brought into things. I had rather hoped that keeping things vague would serve us for longer than it did, but with your successful removal of Eyghon the council has become more interested in your identity."

Giles removes his glasses and begins polishing them while he collects his thoughts.

"They have given me two days, only one of which remains, to divulge what I know about you. Frankly, Alex, they have me over a barrel. Thanks to the indiscretions of my youth, they can and if they desire to will, destroy me in a professional inquiry that will undoubtedly see me locked up for a few years in a room with no windows and only rats for company. I can resign my position instead, historically speaking they will then only use legitimate law enforcement with which to harass me, but the very fact that they would do so would make it all but impossible for me to be of any real assistance to Buffy aside from the most basic research, as many of the books I use belong to the council."

Giles pans his eyes over the crowd. None are willing to meet his eyes, it isn't difficult to see where this is going.

"I could lie to Zabuto. It would be a temporary solution at best, and would be far worse for all of us when it was inevitably discovered. Finally, with your permission, I could introduce you to Zabuto and let him decide what to tell the council, with hopefully some well heeded advice and requests from me."

Alex looks around the living room.

"I am obviously missing something here Giles. You seem really reluctant for the people you work for to know who I am. Dare I even ask why that is? I mean, I know that they are super traditionalist and kinda douche bags to the slayer, and yeah, for that they aren't my favorite people. But really, they can't declare war on every magic user that exists. Why should I care if they know who I am?"

Giles puts his glasses back on. "You're right of course. Except that there are a few things that stack against you. First, the magic that you use is unlike anything that any mage they control uses. Making you an unknown. Which makes them concerned, particularly when you are so close to their slayer. The second is that you are supplying the slayer. Something they generally disapprove of. But really Alex, the problem is that you do not seem to understand the depth of the power that you can wield. To make this shirt of Buffy's would take any other mage months to produce, assuming they could do it at all. Before you, there was no way to produce holy water aside from to have access to a priest type of one sort or another. You can craft your own servants, sans any form of necromancy. Even disciplines that have managed such a thing take years to do so, you take days."

Giles looks Alex in the eyes.

"To put it bluntly, you are shattering belief in rules that have been immutable for thousands of years that we know of. If the council were to ever learn the true scope of your nature, they would stop at nothing to control you. Failing that, I suspect that they would attempt to terminate you. They would say they were doing so for the good of mankind. I am ashamed to say there was a time I might have agreed with them."

This makes everyone lean back and consider. Willow leans into Alex's side and holds her hand while she does so.

Finally, Alex looks at Giles. "So, what if we give them a variation of what they want?"

Giles raises an eyebrow. "How so?"

Alex extricates herself from Willow and stands up, reaching into her book bag that was sitting by the couch and pulling out a beret that she puts on her head at a rather jaunty angle.

Then she changes.

She seems to get a few inches shorter, down to five foot. He posture becomes stooped. Her hair goes from a dark brown to a grayish white, and her face becomes a nest of wrinkles and old scars.

Her clothes go from a sensible jeans and t-shirt ensemble that she had worn all day to a long brown robe that drags on the floor. One of her eyes flashes over to a milky white mess that obviously can't be seen out of, and the other goes from deep brown to an almost sky blue. Most of her teeth fade from sight, and the ones that remain are twisted and decayed, looking painful to even see.

She looks at Giles.

"You didn't really think I hadn't made myself a few toys, did you?" Curiously, her voice remains unchanged and the sound seems incongruous at best coming from an aged old crone.

The rest of the room is caught between awe and disgust at what they are seeing. Willow is the first to say anything, looking rather panicked.

"Please say you didn't really become that. Please."

Ending the effect and instantly looking normal once again, Alex laughs as she sits back down.

"Of course not. If I could mold flesh that easy, I'd see about being me again. No, it's just a disguise spell built into a hat. Mental control. Lasts indefinitely, though I suspect it would fail if you went to sleep with it on. But the point is, if I talked to them looking like something I wasn't, then later on when they were trying to run me down if they decided to cause trouble, they'd be hard pressed to find me, if you get what I am saying."

Giles finally finds his voice.

"Where did you find the time to create such a powerful item with everything else you've been doing?"

Alex giggles. "Powerful? Nope. This one is easy peasy. Takes a couple of days to put this together. But it has some limitations. I mean, it's just an illusion. Nothing tactile transfers. So I'll need to build a disguise outfit to wear with whatever look I decide to go with that will handle that. It also doesn't make you any stronger, no matter how big you try to make yourself look. It doesn't keep you warmer, no matter what it looks like you are wearing. But for a single meeting, I think I can come up with something that'll fly. Unless you think it's a bad idea, Giles. I mean, you know these assholes way better than any of us."

Giles considers.

"The problem isn't what do I think they will want to do. The problem is how far they will be willing to go to achieve it. Unless you are willing to leave the area and cut off contact after this meeting, if they truly wish to know your identity, it is likely they will be able to ferret it out. At that point, anything you have done to conceal yourself will count against you.

"My suggestion would be to use your device to change your appearance enough that a picture or solid witness would show a difference and get you off the hook, but somebody who saw you in dim light might still pull you out of a lineup. That gets you the benefit of some anonymity without destroying your credibility. This is of course assuming you are willing to take the risk at all. I am willing to turn in my resignation to them if it comes to that. I owe you no less, for any number of things you have done, both before and after Halloween."

Alex glances up at that, and sees Buffy blushing, Jenny and Willow both looking proud, and Giles merely looking sincere in his offer.

"As I understand it, you quit under these circumstances, they make you miserable and Buffy gets stuck with a new watcher that may or may not be worth the spit it would take to put out the fire were he burning, correct?"

Giles nods. "That is indeed the case."

"Naw, that's too much. Tell your buddy I'll see him tomorrow, at your place, at seven. Just you, me, Zabu, and the two slayers. Now, what do I tell the guy."

Jenny groans. "If I am understanding Giles, as little as you can possibly get away with."

"Essentially correct, though there are a few points that you should try to avoid bringing up even if pressed. Namely your minion automatons, and the power of the items you build. If they want an example, have something on you that is relatively harmless to showcase for them."

Alex nods. "I have something that would fit the bill. But what are we going to do about tonight's patrol, Giles? If Buffy can't make it out, that puts Kendra doing a solo run on the Hellmouth. I understand she's a slayer and all, but that is still horseshit. Plus Angel's missing."

Buffy looks sad, but still astonished that Alex of all people brought that up.

"Yeah, we need to find him. He could be hurt!"

Alex tries to look concerned, yet in control when she turns to Buffy.

"That is part of it. But also, he's the third and last of the scourge that's left. If he's gone off the deep end we need to deal with him. But if he hasn't, we need to get him under wraps somewhere. What do you think Kendra would do if she came across a vampire that matched Angelus' description?"

Buffy scowls. "Bitch better not."

Giles motions his hands in a placating gesture.

"Moving past that if we can, Alex has made some good points. Willow, Jenny, could I bother you to cross reference police reports for bodies found with likely hideouts? Perhaps they've made a mistake."

Alex thinks back. Something is tickling her brain. Wait a minute...

"Giles, once a vampire has a lair, what is the likelihood that they'll move on unless they have to? Because the morning after Halloween, when Skite met us in the library, he said that he'd tracked the blonde vampire back to a warehouse and came back to me once it was light out. Considering who was around that night, how much do you wanna bet that the blonde vampire was Spike?"

The room freezes. Then Giles speaks.

"You know where he is? Why didn't you say so before?"

Alex looks a little ashamed but mostly annoyed. "I'll tell you what Giles, we'll go ahead and let you know something that may or may not matter in the future, then chop your junk off and staple tits to your chest. See how important it seems to you then."

Giles goes from irritated to contrite in the span of a heartbeat. "Point taken. Is there a way to verify?"

Alex nods, her eyes already shut. "I already am. Gimme a couple minutes, Skite is having a hard time finding a way in."

Collectively the group seems to be holding their breath as they watch her eyes moving about like mad behind closed lids, as though she is taking in the details of a quickly moving slide show behind her eyes.

"Okay, he's in. Bad spot in the roofing. They... Oh Buff. They've got Angel chained up to a support beam and it looks like they've worked him over pretty good. I'm almost positive that even on a vampire all that stuff is supposed to be on the inside."

Giles breaks in. "If he has been subjected to a disemboweling then it is worse then you probably realize." At Alex's grimace he continues. "That is where vampires store their blood. Without blood, they can't regenerate. It puts the entity into a wretched position where their demonic thirst completely controls them until the blood passing through them has managed to regenerate enough of their body to maintain a supply. Soul or not Buffy, right now, Angel is a blood crazy fiend that will kill if released."

Buffy is beside herself with horror, but still willing to speak her mind.

"We need to get him out of there. Like, now."

Alex speaks, her voice quiet, distracted. Almost wraith like. "Wait. Giles, I see one of your books here on a desk. Something something 'Du Lac.' I remember putting it back one time after Willow was looking through it."

Giles looks as though he's been run through. "Oh dear."

After a moments silence, Jenny nudges him.

"Come on, English. Speak up!"

Glancing at her quickly, Giles then looks to Buffy. "There are rumors that Drusilla was damaged by a mob in Prague. For a while it was even believed that she had been destroyed. Nobody knows the extent of the damage, but the Du Lac manuscript is one of the few known sources of medicinal knowledge that can be applied to Vampire physiology. I've no clue what they are up to specifically as the manuscript has been encoded, but with vampires most things tend to revolve around blood and succession. As Angelus was the sire to Drusilla, I can only assume that is the case here."

Alex turns to Giles, her eyes still closed. "Whatever we're gonna do we better do it quick. Spike, Drusilla, I think our cop friend from earlier, and like twelve kids in chains around ten years old just walked in. I'm getting Skite out of there."

Willow, still holding Alex's hand, mumbles in a lost tone. "Why would they need little kids?"

Giles stands. "Because they need Angel feeding non-stop. Likely they intend to somehow use his blood to regenerate Drusilla and they need him unable to refrain from killing."

As though someone had just opened a gate, the entire crew bursts into action. Giles steps to a phone and calls Zabuto, already fingering the keys to his car, as he will need to get weapons from the boot. Jenny and Willow go to the study where the techno-pagan and her apprentice begin looking through books and her computer files for anything that could help. Buffy pulls her armor out of her gym bag and heedless of whoever else might be in the room, strips down to her small clothes and begins getting ready for battle.

Alex goes to her room and readies herself for bed. It occurs to her that the universe isn't entirely fair in this instance, but since for once it is being unfair in her favor she is unwilling to complain about things.

"Q calling slayer. Come in slayer."

There is a moment of silence. "I'm here. So were you, where did you go?"

Alex can't help but release a slight smirk, despite the gravity of the situation.

"Same place I always am these days when it all goes to hell. Look, do me a favor and when you start your assault, make it a point to bust out some of those big high windows. Maybe a skylight. I need an access point for Drop Waddle. Getting him in the area now. Skite is still standing by."

Buffy frowns. "Kendra will be there. Maybe even Zabuto. Are you sure you want to be involved?"

Alex rolls her eyes. "Twelve kids, Buffy. We don't have time for me to be hiding from the big, bad, council when there are twelve lives on the line. If anybody asks, just tell them DW is a remote controlled thing. It might work. Hell, it isn't even a lie. Mostly."

Buffy finds herself nodding. It is hard to deny the logic. Or the need for help.

"Hey, Buffy. You guys better hurry. They are hooking tubes up to Angel and Drusilla now. They are at the abandoned warehouse on Pines. The one with the big red garage door. Probably a dozen fledges, Spike, Drusilla, the cop. It looks like they stole a bunch of stuff from an evil church or something and set it up in there. So be careful, who knows if any of it has oddball religious effects or anything."

Ten minutes later, Giles and Buffy meet Sam and Kendra in front of the warehouse. Kendra turns to Buffy as she gets out a few stakes and secrets them about herself. "What is the plan, den, Buffy? It is your town."

Nodding thankfully, Buffy opens her mouth to outline her idea when her earpiece cues up.

"Buffy, you need to get in there and stop this, they have Angel feeding!"

Without another word, Buffy turns and runs toward the man sized front door to the warehouse, flinging a brick at the high windows as she goes, which DW slips inside a few moments later after Buffy hits the front door like a runaway truck. Kendra and the two watchers, shocked for a moment, are quickly sprinting after her as she begins fighting the fledgling vampires that are guarding the entrance.

The assassin, perhaps out of bad luck or simply being overeager to finish the assignment and get away from all of these vampires that keep looking at her as though she might make and acceptable snack, is the first to go. Rupert Giles sees her pulling a gun on his slayer and with barely a thought, he puts a crossbow bolt into her skull, then steps over the corpse. His inner Ripper giggles with glee at the shocked look on the dead woman's face.

As this is happening, Drop Waddle is lining up a shot on Drusilla.

With the red tip.

By the time that the fight has spilled into the warehouse proper and Drop Waddle has a shot, Angel has been force fed five children, and the area around him is now littered with their corpses. Spike is in the process of pulling the tubes on his beloved Dru, speaking as he does so. "Damn Slayer. Sorry love, hope that was enough. We've got to go."

That is when the bolt enters the back of the woman. The wood in her heart causing her to dust, and spraying the alchemists fire on Spike. Screaming in agony, rage, and consumed by grief the blond vampire runs. Disappearing into the recesses of the warehouse and out into the night through a side door, desperately trying to put out the fire that is consuming his flesh.

Before long, the pair of slayers have reached what is left of Angel. Still gnawing on the corpse of a blonde girl in a pair of pajamas featuring the cast of "Winnie the Pooh" playing volleyball. Trying to lick away any last bits of sustenance that might be drawn from it.

Kendra goes to stake him, and when Buffy grabs her, screaming "NO!" the world stops, for just a moment, as the crossbow bolt fired by Sam Zabuto enters the vampire's chest, and for a millisecond Angel's eyes clear before in agonizing slowness he also crumble to dust.

Authors Note:

I did say we would be going off the rails a tad, did I not?


	12. Chapter 12

Authors note: I have decided that rather than embarrass myself horribly, I am just not even going to bother to try to 'accent' Kendra's speech anymore. I am pretty sure I am mangling it horribly anyway. Feel free to use your imagination to make up the difference if you must.

Chapter 12

Standoff.

The silence stretches on for nearly a full ten seconds while a shocked and horrified Buffy slowly turns to face her boyfriend's killer. Sam, clearly having no idea what exactly he has done over and above getting rid of a child killing vampire, has come forward and is attempting to remove the shackles from the remaining children. He has time to tell Kendra to keep watch before Buffy takes the first step towards the man she has decided to kill.

She stumbles. Looking down, she stops and tears fill her eyes as she sees again this time in perfect detail, the young girl that Angel was mutilating when he died.

She can hear the soothing tones of Zabuto as he tries to calm the children.

Feels the tentative grip of Giles on her shoulder.

She turns to her watcher and buries her face in the mans chest, the tears soaking the material and her shoulders heaving as her body represents physically the damage to her soul.

Giles speaks softly over Buffy's shoulder.

"I need to get my slayer home, her mother was quite upset about some things that happened at school today. Will you be able to finish up here?"

Zabuto gives Giles an odd look, but nods. "I will see you tomorrow evening, Giles. We have things to discuss, as well as William to either find or verify dead."

The two leave, watcher all but carrying his distraught slayer. Pausing only to scrounge the desk in the corner for a few tomes, including the one that had been stolen from the library, and some oddities that Giles suspects are magical in some way. The ride back to Buffy's house is quiet, and against all odds it would appear that she will be getting home on time.

The two sit in the idling car for a time in front of the Summers home. Before she does finally get out of the car, Buffy comes to a decision.

"I want him gone. I don't want to hear about how he didn't know. I don't care about what he had just seen, I found it bad enough myself that I never want to think about it again. But I want him the fuck off the Hellmouth or I won't promise what will happen to the son of a bitch if I see him again."

Giles nods. He had expected as much. Frankly, he had expected worse. Slayers in general tended to be an emotional lot and this would have been tough for anybody, slayer or not.

"I will need to see him tomorrow evening, but I will try to see him gone after that. I'll not ask you to join us for that meeting."

Buffy doesn't answer. She just gets out of the car and walks into the house. When she sees her mother, the tears come back and she collapses in her arms.

Alex watches Kendra and her Watcher through Skite as they walk their seven survivors the five blocks to an all night diner by the freeway. Once there Sam buys the children something to eat with cash, and uses the pay phone by the bathrooms to place a call, after which he wipes down the phone with a cloth and the two leave. While Skite was unable to hear the phone conversation, the fact that the homunculus can hear the police sirens before the two have even made it to the front door tells her who they called.

She looses a bit, as DW has arrived to get resupplied and Alex has to concentrate on the here and now for a few minutes. When he is again in bed and paying attention, she can see that the two are investigating a sewer cover about a block from the warehouse that has been left off of it's hole. Her view is not the best, as Skite has foregone the air in an effort to get just a little closer to listen in as the two talk.

"Watcher Zabuto, who was the vampire that you killed at the end? Buffy seemed upset."

Sam nods as he continues his investigation, attempting to determine if Spike had lived long enough to get this far or if this cover being off was a coincidence. It is the Hellmouth, after all.

"I cannot be certain, my Slayer. He was in rough shape. But I believe it was Angelus, of the Scourge of Europe. If I am correct, then this has been a great day, to see the end of two of the remaining three at least."

"But Watcher, why would his own friends do such a thing to him?"

Sam smiles. This is why he is a watcher. In spite of all their strength and speed, killing instincts and will to overcome, Slayers are always young and usually naive. He is needed for this reason.

"Ah, my slayer. You ask a very good question. The answer is that I do not know. Watcher Giles and I will no doubt try to discover the answer tomorrow, as it may offer insight into the actions or future plans of William the Bloody assuming that he still exists. But never forget, my child, the Hyena and the Lion."

Kendra smiles. She likes it when her watcher goes all Aesop's fables with her. It almost lets her experience the childhood that her training had mostly denied her.

"I do not think my watcher has told me this lesson. Perhaps he should, lest I be forced to ask the question many more times."

Sam nods and schools his features into his storytelling look, which he believes is wise, but Kendra can't help but think looks like he is a constipated ape that can't find any prune juice. She giggles under her breath. Sam begins the walk back towards the hotel as he speaks.

"Long ago in a land far from here there was a small village. The people worked hard, and for many years they did well for themselves. But one day people in the village began to turn up missing. Where did they go? Many asked this question. Finally, a young man was sent out of the village to find them. On the path, he came across a Lion who was eating a small boy from the village. The Lion was being harassed by Hyenas. The young man was brave, strong and skilled, but perhaps not as smart as he could be. When he sees what is happening, he uses his bow and shoots the Lion in the eye, killing it. Can you guess what happened then?"

Kendra's heart drops. This isn't going to be a fun story. This is going to be the kind of story that only tells her that she shouldn't have asked the question, as the answer is actually rather obvious.

"The Hyenas kill the young man, don't they?"

Sam nods. "It is a more difficult lesson than most believe. I do not blame you for asking. But despite the popular witticism, the enemy of my enemy means nothing. It is an unknown at best, and likely one prone to violence. The forces of evil squabble amongst themselves constantly, taking advantage of it to thin their numbers whenever possible is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do. Never forget that."

The to fall into a respectful silence after that. Alex brings Skite back to Buffy's house as a lookout once they are back in their hotel room for the night as Sam has decided that killing two master vampires and a dozen more besides was enough for one night.

Alex spends some time the next day after school sorting out her disguise. Deciding to keep things simple, she goes from brunette to blond, from brown eyes to green, from somewhere between sixteen and eighteen years old to thirty five or so, reduces the appearance of her breasts down to reasonable from their normal D's to a modest B, and finally she makes a few subtle changes to where her cheekbones seem to be that alter her facial structure a bit.

The result is a brand new person that with contacts and a wig could almost be her own mother, but would only get mistaken for her wearing a hooded sweatshirt in terrible lighting by a legally blind man.

Creating the clothes for this is simple enough, though she isn't thrilled about having to bind her own breasts as tight as she needs to in order to make sure that the illusion will hold up under a random touch, accidental or on purpose. Spending a few minutes practicing in front of a mirror a few odd mannerisms, tapping her fingernails on her lower lip, rubbing her earlobe between thumb and forefinger, and adding just the slightest southern twang to her voice. Not enough to be silly, but just a touch.

She legitimately never thought she would get this much use out of the few days of training she has in disguise, but damned if it isn't coming in handy now. Damn know-it-all rogue said it would. At least, he did in her memories. Between her natural charms and the hat, she feels pretty good about her odds of pulling this off.

Catching the local news reveals that the children had apparently all been abducted from an orphanage in town. The 'Richard Wilkins the First Memorial Orphanage" to be exact. They averaged age ten, but ranged from nine to one twelve year old. Apparently there are still five missing, so the search is still o to find the dead ones as well as the murderers of three of the orphanage staff that died during the abduction. It doesn't seem possible that out of seven children none of them could find their way back to the warehouse to show the cops, so Alex is left to assume that something hungry found the bodies first.

Just another day on the Hellmouth.

Giles picks her up at six. He raises an eyebrow at the hair dryer she brings along, but doesn't say anything. The drive over is quiet, and when they arrive Giles offers tea while they wait. Once they are both sitting, Giles is the first to speak.

"The illusion is amazing. I have been keeping an eye on you since I picked you up and I cannot find a gap in it to exploit. Once Zabuto is here, I shall try to keep the meeting short. The less time he has to spot a problem, the better off we are. But know that he will be bringing his slayer, and for obvious reasons, Buffy will not be here. Whatever happens, it cannot come to violence."

Alex nods, having expected as much. "Have you talked to Buffy today?"

Giles blows on his tea, then takes a sip.

"Briefly, during lunch. She is intending to try to ignore her feelings until Zabuto is gone, then I would imagine there will be some blood filled nights for a fortnight or so until she has burned through the bulk of her grief. Not said in as many words, you understand. But still, an unmistakable path once one has parsed through the dialog. I do hope I can count on Willow and yourself to help the poor girl in her time of bereavement."

"Of course, what kind of friend would I be if I wouldn't?"

"Something less than one, I would think. What will we be using for your name?"

Alex grins. "Would you believe Alexandra?"

Giles frowns slightly. "Don't you think that keeping it so close to your given name and your chosen current name will make things problematic?"

Alex shrugs. "Maybe, Giles. But look, I have some magic to help and an honest face maybe. But my actual training in espionage type skills is less than a week and it was given by a crusty old bastard rogue that was missing both a hand and his sense of humor. One of the few things he told me that really stuck, was that the biggest reason that false identities fail is that amateurs don't respond to the name in a convincing way. People can tell when you flub that up, trained or not the human animal will key up on it, and once they have determined that you've lied about it they'll never trust you. It is better by far to be an unknown than the one who lied in the eyes of most people. I am no super spy. Hell, the only reason I have the training I do was for getting into and out of walled towns and cities without trouble. Trust me, the guys that pull guard duty ain't generally the brightest. I didn't need to be that good. Given how poor I am at the game, I need to skew things in my favor. So, Alexandra. My only saving grace here is that I have some training and some magic to back it up. I am betting that Sam has neither."

Giles considers what she has said, and despite trying he can find no flaw in her reasoning. The two fall into idle chat about the goings on of the night before, and soon there is a knocking at the door. Three sharp knocks, followed by two, then one. Giles gets up, to answer the door, whispering "Showtime" as he does so.

Opening the door and stepping to the side to allow them in, Sam sees the woman on the couch immediately and turned to Giles. "This is the witch?"

Giles frowns at his friend. "This is Alexandra. While yes, she is the one with whom you wish to speak I'll thank you to be more polite to my guests."

Sam looks back around to Alex and offers an apologetic smile. "I do apologize. It has been a very busy couple of days. My name is Sam Zabuto, and this is my associate, Kendra."

He then sits down upon the couch, Kendra perching next to him as Giles disappears briefly into the kitchen to fetch more cups and start more water boiling.

"Giles has said much about you, in a very general kind of way. What brings you to the Hellmouth?"

Alex makes it a point to look faintly bemused. "I live in Sunnydale. Why would I not be here?"

Zabuto nods. "I meant to inquire about the work you do, I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Nodding as she picks up her tea, Alex blows on it once to cool it and takes a sip. She never appreciated tea much before, but damn if post Halloween Alex wasn't a fan of some of Giles standards that he brought out for company.

"I quite understand. No need to apologize."

She stops and takes a sip, smiling slightly behind her cup. It's a gamble, but the best way to get out of this without giving up much is to put him on the defensive and she is betting that a kill'em with kindness approach can work here.

Zabuto lets things sit for a minute as they all have a drink, then asks a bit more forcefully. "So what business do you conduct on the Hellmouth?"

Alex turns her head to the side, then looks over to Giles.

"Giles, I was under the impression that this was to be a casual meeting between friends and like minded folk. If it is going to degenerate into an interrogation led by a man that started things by trying to pass his attack dog off as a kitten in a teacup, I think I am going to have to call it a night and head home."

Giles nods, seeming to agree with her assessment.

"I am sorry. I truly believed that he would be capable of common courtesy. Apparently I was wrong. I will see if the council would be willing to send someone else to 'feel you out' as it were."

Zabuto looks thoroughly confused at this point.

"Giles, you know that I cannot let her leave. I am sorry if she believes me rude, I genuinely was trying to be as polite as possible, but I need the answers to these questions or things will go bad for you."

Giles offers his friend an apologetic look. "Then I guess you will be taking them back my resignation. From your first words upon walking in the door you were boorish and rude. Then you attempted a subtle intimidation, trusting that the Slayer by your side would save your hide if she became uncooperative. But this is not how you treat allies."

Sam looks at Kendra and goes to make a gesture. Alex interrupts him.

"Please don't."

Sam looks at her.

"Don't what?"

Alex looks at the man as you would a small child that you caught scribbling on the walls in crayon. She sighs.

"I know what the Watchers Council is. I know what a Slayer is. I know exactly how dangerous they are. If you push me any further, I'll have to kill her to deal with her, she is far to deadly to treat any other way. But as she kills vampires and evil demons, an activity that I am entirely in favor of, I'd rather not have to do that. So, Please don't."

Sam looks confused, yet as though he believes he has seen a path through the mire.

"If you know all these things, than you will answer my questions, yes?"

With a sigh that seems to project onto others how tedious she finds all of this, she answers after a sip of tea.

"If you were to ask a question that was actually any of your business, I might consider answering it. As I am a human, non-evil, non demonic entity, my business is mine alone. If you to ask something about goings on here at the Hellmouth, which is your area, I'll see what I can do. But as you have no local authority over my person, badgering me about how I make my money isn't going to get you anywhere."

Sam is looking mad at this point.

"Fine, we'll play it your way. Eyghon. You banished him. The council wants to know how. Surely you can agree that a method to dispose of a demon that preys on mankind is something we would have a right to look into."

Alex looks him in the eyes. "The demon is not disposed of. He is merely banished back to wherever he came from. I've no doubt that some thrill seeking idiot will summon him up again." She looks somewhat apologetically at Rupert. "Sorry, but it must be said that it wasn't the brightest thing to do."

She sets her teacup back down. "In answer to your question, I would love to show you. But I cannot. Not will not, can not. The magics I use are particular to me and will work for no other. Though if the council has problems that they think I can help with, I would be willing to assist for a modest price, assuming it doesn't take me too far from home."

Sam is looking intrigued. Part of what he is here for is to secure this person's cooperation.

"What is your price, and how far is to far?"

Alex smiles. Sam may not know it, but she's already won. That was the first rule of being a rogue the old bastard ever told her. 'Ninety percent of surviving the negotiating table is getting the fool to stop posturing and dicker with ya. Once you've got that, it's all but in the bag.'

"Oh, the price varies, wouldn't it? But to give you an idea I would say that a situation similar to the Eyghon one would be no more than a few hundred dollars. He was already caught, after all. The Slayer had already done the heavy lifting. I merely walked in the room and cast a spell. Hardly room for combat pay in such a scenario, and frankly, I would likely turn down any offer of employment that was much more dangerous than that. I can be dangerous if I must. But it's a lousy way to live your life. As for how far, I don't see myself being willing to leave the immediate vicinity of Sunnydale for the immediate future. Not for the Council, anyway. First impressions mean something, and yours was not the best."

Sam glances at Giles. "What about his?"

Alex laughs. "I met him outside of his duties towards your little club first. Also, he was the one who offered to resign a post he loves and is dedicated to so I wouldn't have to deal with this bullshit. My impression of him is quite good. My impression of the council, however, was not helped by this."

What followed was a short question and answer session during which Alex truthfully talked about some of the demons that she had confronted since she got into town on Halloween, though she makes it a point to not mention when she arrived and she skipped the known assassins, deciding that little good could come of being connected to that. Shortly after, she leaves. Normally she would be loath to walk home in the dark, but she is met by Buffy only a few blocks away and the two make the journey in companionable silence after a hug and a few tears from Buffy.

Neither even noticed the following vampire that Drop Waddle put to the ground with a bolt sticking out of his skull, twitching.

Author's Note:

Well, I have to say that I actually expected at least ONE person to be irked that I nixed Angel. I wasn't counting on Drusilla getting any love, but Angel? Surprised me a bit.

That said, he had to go for a different bag of reasons than Oz, but no less important ones. The big one with him is that by merely existing he turns the whole damn thing into this angsty soap opera for the first three seasons, and an angsty horrific soup opera for half of one of them. Between that, all the prophecies tied to him, and Buffy's neurotic tendencies where he is involved, moving forward with anything new that wasn't actually just a slight retread of canon is a pain in the ass. So, he's gotta go.

And Drusilla? Gonna be honest here. I actually like Drusilla. She is a cool character. But she is like a mind deadening drug for Spike, he is way cooler when he is not on the Drusilla.

Also? Really freaking tired right now. Please forgive stupid mistakes, I'll come back and clean it up a little maybe after my eyes stop feeling like I have little squares of shag carpet under the lids.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Back in the groove.

Its been almost three weeks since Angel died. Rumor has it that Spike is still in town somewhere, but for as good as he is staying out of sight he may as well have crawled into his own ass and zipped it shut, Alex muses with more than a little annoyance. Zabuto and Kendra stayed one additional day, then took off. Apparently there was something happening in Jamaica, or Hawaii, or Monaco, or some other resort destination that wasn't currently adorned with a freaking Hellmouth.

Must be nice to be part of team 'Not stuck on the Hellmouth.'

In the end though, it's just as well they took off. Buffy needed Sam gone so she could get some perspective. As soon as he was on the plane she went on a ten day rampage through the town trying to find Spike, since he was the only one left that they could punish for the way Angel had been gutted and wrecked like he was.

Well, she didn't find Spike, but she has killed and skinned a dozen demons that don't do the oven cleaner thing, so Alex has had plenty to experiment with. Tanning the hides is a pain in the ass, but the result is crazy tough and oddly, really colorful. Like oil in a puddle, they have a rainbow shimmer to them.

The only truly good news is that some high muckity-muck in the Watchers Council contacted Giles to say that the hit on Buffy had been called off. Apparently whoever had called in the hit was slow in making their second payment.

Alex finished Buffy's stuff a while ago but hasn't brought her over for the delivery yet as she wanted to sneak something in for herself before starting on the next Buffy or group related project.

Call it creator's prerogative. But that finished last night, so Buffy and Willow will be coming with her after school to take a look.

Ah yes. Willow. Willow has decided that they are a 'thing.' Like everything emotionally based with Willow it took her a long time to get there, but once she had made the decision she has been utterly relentless in pursuit of this goal. While the hand holding and occasional smooches have been pleasant. More than pleasant, really, the whole thing still feels really off to Alex. Not "bad" off, just "unbelievably discombobulating" off. She tried to say something to Jenny about it, since she signed up as guardian and all, and her only comment was feelings like that are normal and mean that whatever Willow is doing to entice her, it's working.

Of course, she was planning a date to go to a technology symposium in LA with Giles of all people at the time, so what the hell does she know about love?

The walk to the house is pleasant enough, and getting Buffy kitted out in her gear is always fun. Every time Buffy gets new toys her eyes light up like it's an extra special Christmas themed after school special and she's the star.

"Okay, so what am I wearing again?"

Buffy's inquiry follows her having laced on the custom boots and belt that have been finished.

Alex hands her a sheet of paper with a couple of specifics on it, and then starts explaining.

"The boots are pretty simple. Run faster, jump higher and farther. When you get a chance, go nuts with 'em so you get a feel for what they do. The belt is kind of a unique mishmash. Had to cannibalize ideas from a couple of other things to make it happen. The front small pockets on either side will hold ten stakes each, of a specific size. If you need more, let me know. It's nothing to spin them off. You load each side like you would a magazine on a gun. Spring loaded-like. Each time you pull one out, a new one snaps into place until you're out. Refilling is just the reverse, shove one over a bit and slide the new one in. The two pockets on the back are intended to hold potion vials. Eventually, you'll have a variety. They will each hold ten vials of potion, holy water, oils, whatever. Pretty good sized ones too, and it'll put whatever is in the thing into a kinda stasis. So you could say, fill one with hot soup if you wanted and chug it on patrol or something. The important thing is that when you reach back there, the one you grab will be the one you were looking for unless it isn't in there, in which case the pouch won't open without the password, which you can set anytime with a drop of blood on the buckle and then saying a word you want to use. Right now each one has two fairly powerful healing potions. Drink them, or force somebody else to drink them, and they will heal you. Interestingly, the spells they are based on will actually hurt undead back on Eberron, so if you ever get a safe opportunity to force some leech to chug one, it might be good to know for later."

Alex grins a rather feral showing of teeth. She thought she hated vampires before, but seeing them destroy the lives of five kids and probably wreck the sanity to seven more has brought her loathing to all new levels.

"But anyway, that is it for the suit for now. What did you decide on for a weapon?"

Buffy jumps in place a few times, obviously liking the ease at which she can get some extra height.

"Giles has all kinds of ideas for exotic whatever but honestly I think I just want a sword. Maybe a little on the short side. The important thing is that I need it built to take a beating, I'll be using it to try to kill things that have skin like tank armor sometimes. It might do some time as a crowbar, or a doorstop or beating down a door to save somebody on the other side, whatever. The big thing for me is that I need to know, whatever I do to it, it isn't gonna break on me. If you can do that, anything else is just gravy."

Alex gives her a nod, considering. "I'll come up with a few un-enchanted prototypes for you to look at in a few days. Once we have an idea on a style that I think can be built to do the job and that you approve of, I'll get to work on the actual piece."

During all this time, Willow has been staring intently at a corner of the garage/shop. Trying to decide if what she is seeing could really be what it appears to be.

"Alex, is that what I think it is?"

She is pointing at what appears to be an audio cassette tape half hidden behind a shelf and against the wall. That is, if cassette tapes were made of metal and stood two and a half feet tall. It is the strange purple symbol that has been etched and stained onto the side of it that is consuming her attention as a smile threatens and the laugh begins to well up.

Alex can't help it. The giggles spill forth from her in a torrent.

"Come on out, Ravage. You've been spotted."

With that the cassette... Unfolds. A head, four legs and a tail emerge. The whole thing retains a coloration of gray, black, and blued steel. It looses some of the boxy feel of it's construction as joints become obvious in the neck, spine, legs, and tail. Once it has the shape of a slightly undersized mechanical cougar, it pads over to Alex on feet that have been upgraded with rubberized soles, and sits.

"Buffy, Willow, this is Ravage. As soon as I realized I could actually have a Decepticon of my very own I just had to do it. He can patrol right with you, Buff. In the dark he'll pretty much look like a weird kinda blocky dog. I can direct him just like the others. Unlike the others though, Ravage here can take a hit or two if needed. He probably isn't as tough as you are after your gear and stuff, but he should be close to it and it'll be a bit better by tonight. The plan is to use those screw holes in his sides to outfit him with basically patches of riveted leather armor to absorb damage when he does get nailed. He's of the type "Iron Defender" homunculus, they are pretty much intended as a bodyguard and when you are out, it is your body he'll be guarding. Also, he's probably faster than you. I worked out how to add an enchantment to his feet that is supposed to go on horseshoes. He was fast before, but now he could probably outrun a car anywhere but the freeway. I have a couple of freebies I can put on these guys when I am building them, unfortunately one of them always has to be the extended link so I can direct them from here. The other one for this guy though is "Undead Bane" on his jaws. He might not be as impressive against other random demons, though hopefully he can still be useful. But he should be pretty effective against the leech population."

Buffy is grinning wide, and Willow responds with a smile of her own and a few words.

"Since undead is like ninety percent of what we find around here..."

Buffy continues the thought.

"Then that should do just fine. Hey, can I get the undead hatey thing on my sword?"

Alex nods. "Yeah, though I might not to be honest. Unless they are crazy old you don't generally seem to have much trouble against vampires. I was considering going with a couple of more universally useful damage enhancements. Fire and electricity, maybe. Or even just "Evil Outsider" since that should include like ninety nine percent of everything that isn't a vamp, and might even include these vamps, if the story Giles loves so much holds water and vamps are really just an evil outsider-esque demon possessing a corpse."

Buffy looks interested. "Ooh, can I get the lightning? That sounds so cool!"

Alex gives Ravage a pat on the head. "Sure, though before I go crazy with it I am going to run it by Giles. There might be a given element that does better than others or a given thingie that is tough as hell and the extra oomph would be really nice against if we built to take advantage of a weakness. Oh, before I forget. Wills, welcome to the club."

With that she hands the redhead one of the reworked earpieces.

"Controls are simple. Top button is on and off, bottom button mutes the mic. It's designed to only transmit sound from in front of your face in a very narrow cone, so if you want us to be able to listen in on something, you have to be looking directly at it. No batteries or anything, it all runs on magic and it'll run pretty much indefinitely. Oh, and no, there is no way to call just one of us or the other. It's an open channel. It's just the three of us until I get the time to get some built for Giles and Jenny, but even still. No secrets unless you have it shut off or muted."

"What's the range?" Is Willows only question after the sales pitch.

Alex smiles. "Actually pretty proud of that one. Normally it's a mile. But I modified these to use the Hellmouth energies as a secondary carrier wave. So as long as you are within a mile of Sunnydale, and the person your talking too is as well, it should work fine regardless of obstacles or terrain."

Buffy looks a little concerned. "Hellmouth energies? I'm not so sure I like Hellmouth energies in my brain."

Alex just shrugs. "Theoretically the kinda things your thinking shouldn't actually be possible, but knowing that weird crap happens here I did some tests and took some precautions. First, the Hellmouth energies that read to me as a really powerful unholy land are already in you anyway. You can't live here and not absorb them. But they aren't lethal of themselves, though they do seem to be particularly chaos aligned. Some evil, but honestly mostly just chaos. Still though, rather than risk it I spent two days working out the stupid button system with Jenny rather than have the thing tap into your brain for function. The only energy you'll get from it is sound waves."

The two girls, both looking rather relieved, find their gaze is drawn to Ravage. The strange mechanical big cat has stood up and leaped lightly onto the central worktable and Red and Green have flown over with bits of pre-worked leather and a bag of screws and washers. As the pieces begin to get put into place, the demonic leather gives the construct an otherworldly appearance as the shop lights shimmer off of the unusual properties in the covering. Once they are done, Ravage shifts back into and out of his "shelve-able" form a few times, to verify everything still works right, and then pads over to Buffy, placing itself between her and the doors. Buffy gives a soft giggle and pats it on the head.

"I guess he's already on the job."

Alex nods to the armored blonde.

"Yup. I plan to mostly keep him at home, but with his speed he can be anywhere in Sunnydale within a few minutes. So when you are heading out for patrol, like now, let me know and I'll send him over."

Alex turns to Willow. "You're welcome to use the computer we bought for the business if you want to listen in and help with directions or pulling up schematics, listening to the police radio, that kind of thing. It's in my room though, so you'd have to put up with me lazing about. When she is on patrol I spend so much time looking through eyes that are not mine it is just way easier to deal with if I am laying down."

Buffy gives Willow a mock glare.

"And no distracting my backup with any feminine wiles!"

Willow gives a smirk.

"I make no promises, sometimes the wiles are just going to have their way with me."

Alex looks a bit alarmed.

"As long as your wileys stop getting their way at you, and it isn't me they wiley-ing, we'll be okay. Gotta take a firm stand with them wiley's."

Buffy shakes her head in mock horror as she walks toward the door.

"Be careful you two. I hear that wiles are known to bag multiple victims a night. I wouldn't want you two to become a statistic."

One hour later.

"Okay guys, I get that you are thrilled to have some time alone but could you please mute your mics? I keep worrying one of you will forget to breath or something. It's distracting me."

Author's note.

They're just kissing. Get your mind out of the gutter. :P

Short chapter, but I just needed something to transition a few changes before we continued. On the other hand, that should be the last of the big time skips for awhile.

Also, don't own Transformers. I want to say that Hasbro still owns the Gen 1 stuff, which is where this Ravage came from. Since the live action movies though, who knows anymore. As an aside, if you are young enough to have never been exposed to the original series, be advised that while it is a lot better than most shows that were designed to sell toys, it still shows its roots from time to time. I will say that the original animated movie was one of the


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Fall down go sizzle?

It was the loud voices that woke her up.

More accurately, it was Red, Green, and Yellow who woke her up when the voices started to disturb them in the garage.

One eye opens, glances at the clock. Eight o'clock on a Saturday? Disruptive noises that are not apocalypse related are not allowed this early on a Saturday. Disruptive noises related to an apocalypse are only allowed because it might make them easier to find, thus allowing everyone to go back to bed.

Alex at this point realizes two things. One, she's naked in her silk sheets. Two, Willow is also naked in her silk sheets. In the late hours of the evening before, she had offered to have Willow stay, had made up the couch with a sheet, blanket, and pillow. Then she had come to bed.

Apparently, not to be alone.

Gently moving Willows hand from where it rests draped over her from behind, Alex then gets up and throws on some clothes. Thanks to a new setting on the clothes cleaner she can skip a shower today. Not a good idea to do all the time, because for obvious reasons the device does not count non-living bits of people as a thing it can clean up. So, dead skin and such can build up. But for shutting up a loud guest, it's good enough.

Also, what is left of Xander's badly abused masculinity desperately wants to know why in the fuck exactly he cares about dead skin build up.

She even got it to untangle, straighten, clean, and style hair in seconds. Granted, the only styles it can do right now is a french braid or pigtails. But Alex has decided to call it a win anyway.

Surprisingly, even though she isn't a huge fan of being a girl, even her most manly of manly thoughts about the tool is deeply appreciative of the hair feature. The less time spent screwing with hair, the better.

Opening the door to her room quietly, she can hear the argument clearly as she walks down the hall. The first words she can hear come from Jenny. Boy howdy, does she sound pissed off.

"No, Uncle. I do not care that the Elders have decided my task ended too quickly. They made the deal. It is not my job to gainsay their skills at making a deal. Nor is it within their remit to go back on a deal just because it didn't work out the way they wanted it to. The deal was six years or until the task ended, whichever was shorter, as long as it was not ended by my hands. It was a watcher that killed the slime, and it wasn't even a watcher I know! There is no way I could have stopped it even if I wanted to. There were two slayers in town, for crying out loud, how was I supposed to guarantee keeping a vampire alive and cursed with two slayers in town?! The Elders ask too much of one person, and this time it cost them their precious vengeance. Deal with it."

There is a moments pause, and Alex opens the door to the garage so that Ravage can come in. DW and Skite still being on guard duty over at the Summers residence. Then she hears a mans voice.

"Janna, you misunderstand. You are not being reassigned to another task to prove yourself Kalderash. You are being asked to come home, to use your skills to educate our children, find a husband. The Elders are disappointed that the devil Angelus has escaped his payment in pain to us, but they understand there is little you could have done to stop events. Now you get to come home."

Jenny is sounding livid at this point, as if biting each word out from behind clenched teeth.

"That is not what you said when you arrived. You said I have to come home. Now you are saying I get to. What I need to know is what the clan will do when I say no. I have responsibilities here. Things I need to do that I will not abandon."

There is another silence. This one full of tension.

"Janna. You know what it means to go against the Elders like this. Leaving the clan when it needs help, well, I will do what I can. What little that might be. But in the end, you know what will happen. You'll be banished. You will never know the smiles of you family, see your nieces and nephews. It will all be lost to you, like puffs of smoke long after the fire has burned down."

Alex pipes up from the doorway, with Ravage just out of sight in the hallway.

"What is the clans need? I mean, Jenny's good but you can hire teachers for less than what she makes."

Jenny looks over to Alex and throws her hands up, bringing her right back down to smack the dour looking man on the shoulder.

"And now you disrupt my home!? Damn you Enyos! Alex, this is my Uncle Enyos. Uncle Enyos, this is Alex."

Enyos looks perplexed. "Janna, the clan doesn't care if you have a girlfriend. At some point we would like you to produce a child for the clan, but where you dally until then is your own choice. Where you dally after is up to your husband. Choose wisely, and you could keep your friend forever. Isn't she a little young though?"

Jenny screams in impotent rage.

"She isn't my girlfriend, I adopted her when her parents became victims of the Hellmouth, and yes Enyos, while she is part of the reason I cannot go with you she is not all of it."

Enyos freezes. His eyes narrow. He turns to look at Alex, as one would consider the pros and cons of a side of beef. Having apparently found something of which he approves, he turns back to Janna with a ghost of a smile, though it vanishes behind an anger of his own.

"I don't know which part of this should enrage me more, young Janna. The fact that you adopted a youth into the clan without consulting anyone. The fact that you did so out of wedlock, which is our custom. The fact that even after doing it you told no one, which implies that you knew we would disapprove of you randomly adopting waifs off the Hellmouth. Or the most damning bit of all, that after bringing a new youth into the fold you decided to continue raising her on the damned Hellmouth. If she is truly worth all the effort to defy your clan, she should certainly be worth keeping alive I would think."

Alex raises her hand.

"Yeah, mister busybody? Not going anywhere. So wherever you are getting this thought? You need to put it back where you found it before I shove it somewhere and tack it down good with something sharp."

Enyos smiles. "She does have a fire in her. I think I can see why you chose as you did. But Janna, this makes it even more imperative that you come home. Even if only to explain yourself. If you don't, the elders will either disavow this child, which granted might not bother you as you were ready to leave yourself. Or they will affirm the child. At which point she will be taken back to our home, if she is accepted they would never allow one of our children to dwell in a place like this."

Jenny is turning red and is obviously about to rip into her uncle something fierce when there is a sound of mechanical growling. A rolling sound, like a starter in a car being run endlessly and was somehow being force fed swords while it was doing it. The two turn to stare at Alex, who is standing there defiantly next to Ravage. The creature is only three feet tall. But the shear wrongness of the metal beast and the sounds it makes amplify it's presence a thousand fold.

"Ravage, if Enyos mentions me being taken against my will again like its a good thing, I would be deeply appreciative if you would tear his face off."

Ravage barks, and the sound is reminiscent of a muted shotgun blast, then he steps forward two paces, staring again at Enyos and the growling resumes.

Enyos looks at Jenny in obvious worry and curiosity. What he finds in the look the incensed young woman is giving him makes the man do the last thing that either Jenny or Alex had believed would happen.

He laughs. He laughs like the devil came to claim him and got stuck in traffic halfway there.

"Suddenly your reticence becomes clear. You have found a 'magie producatur.' A very powerful one, for such a young woman. Sixteen? Maybe seventeen? This makes rumors we have heard of you being a go between for a magic items dealer make a lot more sense. I take it you were planning to bring her to us at some point?"

Jenny is all but at the end of her rope.

"No! I was going to take her with me to meet my family this summer, sure. But any desire to stay there or not would come from her and would be honored. Anyway, I doubt it is anything we need to worry about now, after your performance I probably couldn't get her to a family reunion if I paid her. Now will you please leave!?"

Enyos, still smiling, tips his old, beaten fedora-like hat to each of them in turn. Looking at Jenny, he offers a few parting words.

"With this bit of information, I can stall the Elders until the summer solstice. Janna, please. Whatever your plans for the future, find your way home, even just for a visit, by then. Bring her if you can. There are things they would like to discuss with you, whatever you decide."

Jenny looks uncertain.

"They won't just try to keep us against our will?"

Enyos shakes his head as he steps outside the door.

"In the end, you know they won't, and your friend here, I am guessing that she will be seventeen by then if she isn't already. An adult in the eyes of the clan. But know too, that while they cannot make you do as they ask, they can make the consequences if you don't bad enough that you will probably do it anyway."

Enyos gives a slight shrug and a half smile. "But sadly, you'll get the worst of those regardless if you do not show up. So please do."

Then the old man walks out, still chuckling.

Jenny slams the door behind him and picks up a pillow from the couch, screaming into it.

Alex hears a voice behind her, it startled her for a moment until she recognizes Willow.

"Jenny, your uncle is a serious poop-head."

Jenny looks up.

"Yes. Yes I know. How much did you two overhear?"

Willow looks at her a bit defiantly.

"Enough to know that you were here for something involving Angel and you never told us. And that your name is Janna." She looks at Alex. "Think you know a person..."

Jenny sighs and then sits down, motioning them to do the same.

"You had heard, I assume, that Angel had his soul because a gypsy clan cursed him with it?"

The two nod, and their faces both brighten, though Willow is also wearing a scowl.

Jenny nods. "My clan. Long before I was born, so you can stop glaring at me, Willow. I didn't do it. More to the point if I had been there I would have been against doing it. We should have just killed the vampire. Damning the soul of Liam like that in our anger and arrogance was a mistake. When I left the home of the clan to go to college, they offered to pay my way in exchange for a single task not to extend beyond six years when I was done. I had an idea what it might entail, there are a few little projects still lingering like this one did, from the old days. But it was still a good deal and my clan needed me, so I accepted. My job was to see to it that he kept his soul. That nothing broke the curse or drug it back out of him." She looks at Willow. "Don't think of it as cursing the man, think of it as protecting the soul, because that is what it was."

She sighs and leans back in the chair.

"But I failed, and he died after I had been on the job only a year. Now the Elders are likely to try to guilt me into either taking on a second chore for the balance of my time or coming home to the Romany to become a broodmare for a new batch of Kalderash. We are fewer now than we might wish. Being in the vengeance business against the likes of Angelus is hard on a clan."

Alex thinks for a bit.

"Do you want to go back? I mean, I heard what you were saying, but if you really do wanna go back, you don't have to stay for my sake. I'll be alright."

Jenny shakes her head.

"No, I wouldn't abandon you anyway. But even if you weren't here, you are only one of many reasons for staying. Giles is important to me, and honestly what you said a while ago made an impression."

Alex looks confused.

"What did I say?"

Jenny offers a soft smile.

"I had said that it was good of you to continue helping Buffy in spite of the differences you were having at the time. You said that your own feelings didn't matter. That as long as she fought the evil, that you would be there doing whatever you could to help. That is the way my clan wants me to think about them, but I just can't get behind a group that uses vengeance as a way of life. I think though, that I could get that way to a group that dedicated itself to fighting evil. Not like the Watchers, most of them seem more interested in watching young women die and then writing about it than getting their hands dirty. But like Buffy, and you two. And Giles, when he isn't trying to defend the Watchers. You do real good in the world, and when I am working with you I can be a part of that. It's an adrenaline rush, but more than that it feels good to know that people that might have died are going to live because of what we do."

She shrugs.

"The clan will never understand that. They view anybody who would live on a Hellmouth without, well, without a reason the clan considered worthwhile, as basically too stupid to be worth saving. Another thing I don't agree with."

Willow is looking at Jenny with something of a confused and saddened expression by this point.

"Yeah, I hate to say it Jenny, but your family are a bunch of... Really big jerks. The biggest."

Alex nods.

"Yeah, gonna go with Willow on this one. But look, they can't take you unless you let them, right? And for that matter, you're family to me no matter what happens. If you need me to visit your family, I'll do it. Where are they, anyway?"

Jenny smiles. "Mostly central Europe, but the Elders will likely be in Italy somewhere for the solstice."

Alex's smile falters a bit.

"Italy? You mean the one that's shaped like the worlds least comfortable boot?

Meanwhile at the Summers residence.

"Buffy, I need you to be home this evening by six. Ted said he wanted to come over and cook dinner for us."

Buffy looks at her a little confused.

"You mean that guy that installed the new computers at the gallery? That Ted? Why does he even know where we live?"

Joyce gets a smile that splashes across her lips and then she twirls a bit of her hair.

"Well, we got to talking afterward and we are both lonely, what with my being divorced and him being a Widower. We aren't for sure of anything, but we thought we might try dating for a bit. You know, see how it worked out. But I need you to meet him. So you need to be here. Go ahead and invite Alex and Willow, the three of you can go sneak out to the Bronze once you are done eating. Fair enough? I'll even give you thirty bucks to spend while you're out."

Buffy grins.

"Wow Mom. Bribery? This guy must have you wrapped around his little finger."

Joyce laughs.

"He is extremely old fashioned. He opens the doors, pulls out chairs, he pampers me constantly. If I hadn't met him myself, I'd say he's too good to be true."

That evening at the Summers residence.

"Alex, Willow! Thanks for coming! This is Ted. Willow, you and he should have quite a bit in common, Ted works with computers." Alex and Willow both look at Joyce, who is speaking and standing next to "Ted" who is smiling with his arm around her. Buffy is sitting in the living room with a scowl on her face. The two sit down and Buffy looks up at them as Joyce and Ted move back into the kitchen. Buffy's voice is pitched low enough to not carry that far.

"Welcome to the freak show."

Alex looks towards the kitchen. Willow leans closer to her friend and speaks cautiously.

"Well, your mom seems pretty happy. Are you sure there is a problem?"

Buffy nods, fiercely.

"Mom has been behaving like a loon since an hour after he got here. Dawn tried to go to a friends house because things got a little uncomfy when mom and Ted were, you know, touchy and stuff? Nothing bad, really, but hard on Dawn. She still has hopes for mom and dad. Ted sent her to her room until dinner for asking, and mom just rolled with it. Treated it like it was all coolsville that he was passing out punishments like Halloween candy. He also gives me the wiggins a bit. Not like a vampire, but there is definitely something off about the guy."

The three think for a minute. Alex is the first to say something.

"He's cooking, right? So how about I go wreck the meal, see how he takes it. Maybe we can all just leave. Take Dawn and grab a bite while he cries over his "Best laid plans" and strokes the mouse in his pocket." She turns to Willow. "You can stop looking shocked, I know, I read a book. Amazing."

Willow grins. "That one was assigned, I know you read it. I was wondering how you were going to wreck the meal."

Alex grins. "With this."

With that Alex pulls out a short stick from her pocket, one of a few based on the sounds. It is about the same size as a chopstick, with a red look to the wood and a metal cap on either end.

Buffy raises and eyebrow.

"What's that?"

Alex whispers to the two of them while keeping an eye on the kitchen.

"Remember the trouble at school, with the fake cop with guns? Well, I tried to think about ways to deal with that using what I had available in my old timey spell library. This was the best I could come up with. It's a reusable wand of the spell "Heat Metal." Back in olden times, it would make a sword too hot to hold, even through a padded metal gauntlet. What do you suppose it would do to a gun?"

Willow thinks about it for a second, then grins.

"It would make all the bullets go boom."

Alex nods. "That's the hope. But if I nail the jerk with it while he's cooking it should turn whatever he is making into charcoal and make the pan too hot for him to try to salvage it."

Alex makes a final look at Buffy.

"Are we go for this plan?"

Buffy nods, a glint in her eye.

"The guy was mean to Dawn and has Mom Hypnotized or something. The least we can do is ruin his dinner plan."

Alex gets up to where he can see Ted in the kitchen, waits until he has his hand on the pan, and waves the wand.

Ted immediately goes stiff, and falls to the floor with smoke pouring off his body. Flesh melting, limbs shuddering.

Alex is screaming louder than Joyce, this was NOT supposed to happen.

But then something happens that makes them stop screaming and get highly curious instead. As the spell stops and the smoke stops pouring off the corpse, through the melted flesh and burned clothes, they can all see metal.

Buffy is the first to respond to this revelation, by running over and kicking the head of the man once, Causing it to snap off and bounce around the room like a demented soccer ball.

Joyce looks like she is getting ready to scream again until Buffy turns to her.

"Mom, please calm down. We have a lot to talk about that I think you need to know, if you were careless enough to invite some weird robot into the house. Hey, Alex! Call Giles and get him over here, will you? Willow, check that thing out, see what you can find out. We need to make sure there aren't any more."

She sighs, long and loud.

"It's gonna be a long night."

Authors note:

I was on the fence for a while on telling Joyce. I was even silly enough to brag to a reviewer that I had made myself extra time to decide having gotten rid of Angel.

Then I realized that if I was actually going to, Ted was the best chance I was ever going to get to make it not seem unbelievably contrived. So... Yeah. Reasons!

The book Alex is referencing, on the off chance you didn't have to read it in school or it was one of the old classics that recently got taken off the public schools reading lists due to fucking Politically Correct Nazis, is "Of Mice and Men." Which obviously, I don't own. Think "Old Yeller" and replace the dog with a seven foot powerhouse with the brain of a five year old, and the boy with a small squirrely man that is trying to keep them both fed and on the right side of the law.

If you don't know enough about Old Yeller to get a feel for how this ends, then you have failed. Go read some books that weren't written by a hack like me.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

This and that.

An hour and a half later Joyce looks around the table, and pointedly tries not to look at the spot on the floor where Willow is busily disassembling her would-be boyfriend.

"Let me see if I have all the major points clear. Vampires, demons, and magic are real. Sunnydale exists on a Hellmouth where all of these things are worse. Buffy is a slayer, and wasn't lying about it two years ago when her father and I had her committed until she recanted. Alex used to be Xander until the same Halloween incident that caused Buffy to suddenly start acing French, and Alex is now some kind of magic user person that makes stuff as a specialty. Giles is both your school librarian and the local representative of the 'Watchers Council' which is an ancient organization that in its thousands of years of operation has never found a better way to stop the badness than to force feed it young girls until it chokes on the bones. Jenny is actually Janna, and in addition to being your computers teacher is also a witch of some sort and a member of an international gypsy... conglomerate of some kind mostly based out of Europe. Willow is the most normal one of you, and from what you tell me she routinely hacks municipal servers."

Willow looks up at this.

"I can float a pencil too!"

Buffy rolls her eyes.

"Willow, not helping."

Joyce continues.

"As evidence to support these things, we have a dead robot. My daughter has twisted our fire poker into a double pretzel. Alex has fried an egg on a pan that was left on the floor with a potholder under it using a stick from her pocket. Giles has talked non stop babble for an hour that seems to revolve around a duty and honor that I note doesn't seem to require a volunteer. Jenny, or Janna?"

Jenny looks startled for a second.

"Jenny is fine."

Joyce nods.

"Jenny then, has done something to my cell phone from across the room that causes it to play the Star Spangled Banner whenever I press any buttons on it."

She then hands the phone to Jenny.

"Incidentally, please fix that. Lastly we have Willow, who appears to be making it a point to make as big a mess of Ted as humanly possible in my kitchen."

Willow manages to look a little guilty, but can't seem to make herself stop.

"I can't deny that your evidence is compelling. So my big questions are, how in the hell did Buffy sign up for this and how do we get her unsigned. She can't be legally bound without my consent and I promise you I didn't give it."

Giles responds, his voice steady and tone calm.

"Legality, sadly, has nothing to do with it. As long as she has the power of a slayer, evil will find her, to test her mettle. Slayers have gone rogue in the past. The council takes a dim view of it, but rarely bothers to intervene. They don't need to. Without support, the lifespan of a rogue slayer is generally measured in days. Weeks at best. The council's view, not my own mind you. But the council's view is that you need us more than we need you so should you become too much of a bother, they are willing to wait the month or so to get a new one that might be easier to deal with."

Joyce looks ashen.

"And the new one is called..."

Giles continues the thought for the distraught woman.

"When Buffy dies. Correct."

Joyce stands up and walks to the fridge, getting a bottle of wine. She pulls the cork and takes a drink straight from the bottle, then walks into the living room without saying a word, and sits down in her chair. Once the rest of the crew in the kitchen, even Willow, has followed her out to the living room, the woman turns to Giles.

"I suppose that in order for Buffy to keep getting the assistance of the council we have to stay in Sunnydale then?"

Giles nods.

"This is where the most active Hellmouth is currently, and has been for many years."

Joyce gives the group a look, but centers on Giles.

"I can't even begin to fathom how you bastards came to view this as normal, reasonable, or acceptable. But since we are stuck in the mire of your group's negligent stupidity I suppose I'll need to look at these books of yours. Where can I meet you tomorrow afternoon?"

Giles looks surprised, but rolls with the punch.

"Well, there are some at my flat, but the majority I keep at the school. I could meet you there anytime after two, if you like."

Joyce nods her acceptance. As she is about to respond, there is a plaintive cry from upstairs.

"Is dinner ready yet? I am getting really hungry up here!"

Joyce places her hand over her brow and rubs it a bit before calling out.

"Give us a few minutes Dawn, we are going to have to order out. Dinner didn't happen as it was intended."

Joyce then looks at the rest of the people in the room.

"Get that thing out of my kitchen. Giles, I'll see you tomorrow at the high school at three. Buffy, make sure they get home safe and then get back here. No patrolling tonight. We need to bring your sister in and I want backup."

Buffy pales.

"Bring her in?"

Joyce nods, taking another sip from her bottle.

"It's either that or she starts to hate me when I never let her out after dark. She will probably hate me anyway, but I would rather that she knew the truth."

With that, they leave.

The next day in the early afternoon, at Alex's house.

Buffy and Willow are both walking in the house with bright smiles. Buffy's greeting rings out.

"I can't believe you have the swords done already."

Alex offers a smirk as she leads them through the house to the garage.

"Yeah, well, it makes it easier to get forge work done when I have a mobile fifteen foot sound free zone that can let the girls work late into the night without kicking off city ordinances against noise after ten. Besides, these aren't the pretty, refined and polished versions. These are just rough shapes so I can get an idea what you want."

She opens the door to the garage and they can see the two weapons she is talking about are laying on the work table. As far as Buffy is concerned, they look ready for service to her. They obviously don't have the polish of Alex's finished pieces, but they are loads nicer that what she is used to using. As she steps closer though, she sees some oddities.

"Alex, what are these? I don't remember ever seeing swords like this in the Watcher's stuff."

Alex nods happily, being fairly proud of these.

"Yeah, I am guessing you haven't. When you were telling me your requirements I realized what the problem is. Your Watchers are supplying you with weapons intended for humans."

At Buffy's sour look, Alex elaborates.

"By which I mean that they are built to be good weapons for someone that has human normal levels of strength. But you have a bit more oomph than that, which is why you go through equipment so fast. These bulked up weapons weren't designed to be used by humans. They are slightly refined versions of Orcish design, the baddest hombres that my Eberron counterpart designed for on a regular basis. Refined for use with your smaller hand, but built to take the punishment of something with twice the carrying capacity of a normal human and half again or more the weight of one. Even this I expect I will need to enchant for toughness, but it is a better start assuming that you can handle the momentum. Try it out on the dummy."

Buffy picks up the first one. It superficially resembles a Roman gladius, but is just a touch longer than might be expected and much wider. Significantly thicker as well, even with the oddity of a center groove, not quite standard on such a weapon. A normal gladius might weigh as much as two pounds. This monster weighed six, which put it's mass on par with a claymore style sword, albeit in a shorter and stockier package.

Buffy doesn't seem to have any trouble with it though, and on her first swing she cuts the top half of the dummy away. She turns back to Alex and the raised eyebrow of the earlier 'human' comments is gone, replaced by a wide smile.

"You were right to mention momentum, it'll take some getting used to it. But the power in this thing is a huge upgrade already, and it really isn't much different to me than swinging the old one. I could do this all day."

Alex motions to the table.

"Give the other one a shot, and then I'll start putting the real work into the one you decide on."

The other sword on the table again has some superficial resemblance to a more common design, this time a cavalry saber. A single edged design with a modest cross guard and a slight curve to the blade that becomes more pronounced at the tip. This blade is, much like the last, different in that it seems overbuilt. The blade perceivable to be both thicker and wider than might be standard, and then balanced by a pommel that becomes a rounded cross if the sword is held upside down.

Buffy swaps out for the new one and waits a few minutes while Green and Yellow repair the dummy. When she does swing, this sword as well cuts straight through the dummy which earns her a sour look from the repair crew. Offering an apologetic look back, she walks back to the table.

"Honestly, I think I prefer the double bladed but they're both awesome."

Alex nods.

"Okay then. Orcish gladius it is. Now, about your other thoughts. You mentioned using it as a crowbar, or a door stop. Honestly, that is just kind of a bad idea with any sword. It would be really tough to make one that would deal with that kind of abuse and still be useful for anything else. But, there is nothing in the rules that say a scabbard has to just be a place to keep a sword, and I can make one that is tough enough to put a crowbar hook on one end. You'll end up with a scabbard that weighs three pounds and a sword that weighs six unless I can work out a local equivalent to mithril. I have some bar stock titanium coming in, but I am less than hopeful based on what I've read. It might do for a sword's spine, but I am given to understand that it isn't the best for holding an edge. I'll have to experiment a bit. As for a door stop, how about I design your sword so the pommel has a flat striking surface and some metal spikes to go in your belt? Maybe opposite the stakes? Then you can just spike a door shut or open whenever you feel the need and you won't have to abandon your weapon to do it."

Buffy walks up and gives her a hug.

"I love visiting you. You always say the nicest things to me."

Willow breaks down into giggles, and Alex turns to her once Buffy has let go and stepped back.

"So, Willow. Put some thought into what you would like for your own equipment. It's gonna be another month or two, but eventually I'll be coming to you in the great upgrading."

Willow stops giggling instantly.

"Oh, no. That's okay. I am happy being the one that isn't fighting. I can be computer girl and stands in the back girl when I go out. That's fine with me."

Alex walks over and, for the first time, initiates a kiss. A short one, but a kiss.

"I want to be able to keep doing that for at least the rest of my life. So you get armor, at the very least. Put some thought into it or you'll get stuck with whatever I make for you."

Willow is doing a very faithful impersonation of a tomato as Alex steps back, and Buffy sighs.

"You two are adorable, you know that right?"

The two look over to Buffy, and by unspoken agreement the three of them go to the living room to relax for awhile, talking of idle gossip and whatnot. Keeping things as shallow as possible in respect to Buffy's loss.

Monday at school, Lunchtime.

Alex was the first one to the lunchroom of the three of them, and sits herself down with her tray of nearly edible slop once again praying that the heady days of senior year and being able to leave campus for lunch will come quickly. She is joined by Cordelia, who sits opposite of her without a word and begins nibbling while she talks.

"I have a few more on the hook for you. I told them that you could take their measurements and requests after school in the gymnasium while cheer practice is going. Also, when you get a chance my mother wants to meet you and maybe put in an order. I didn't actually intend to tell her about you myself, I thought it might mean more to her if she heard from a friend first, but with my cut coming in from all these outfits I forgot to ask for my allowance. She got suspicious when I didn't and now she wants to make sure that what I am doing is worthy of a Chase being involved in it."

Alex nods through a scowl. Not at Cordelia, who has been nothing if not supportive especially since she started making money doing so. But rather at the green stuff on the tray. Giving Cordelia a quick nod, she then offers a curious glance.

"I am a little surprised that you are so accepting of the whole 'me and Willow' thing. Doesn't it hurt your cred as one of the pretty people to be seen with me?"

She looks at Alex as though she fears that mind loss has occurred since the last time they spoke.

"You are a clothing designer. It's like being a guy that works at a salon. It doesn't mean that you are gay, but it does mean that if you are, nobody cares. It's like a get out of jail free card for queers in California. You should really know this already, didn't you do any research into your lifestyle choice? Besides, anybody with half a brain knew that Willow was eventually going to get her crap together and snap you up. We might not have known all the details (she motions vaguely at Alex's chest) but the two of you being a thing was a given, especially after Jesse was gone."

The two drop into an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Then Alex continues.

"Fair enough I suppose. Yeah, tell them I can be there about three thirty. As for your mom, I can see her any night you like, but if it goes later than six I'll need a ride home. I've got no intention of being caught out after dark alone around here."

Cordelia rolls her eyes in a look that all but screams "No shit, Sherlock." Then she nods and gets up.

"No need to panic girls. I am just here discussing business." Then she walks off to her normal table while Willow and Buffy make themselves comfortable.

"So, Wills. Found out anything interesting about our good friend Mr. Ted?"

Willow nod absently, opening the brown bag lunch that she always brings.

"Yeah. I think he was a real guy once. His name is actually registered as the owner of the house that he has supposedly lived in for like fifty years. Buffy and I were thinking we should probably poke around his place one night this week. Other than that, I can tell you that he was built using really old tech. Like twenty or more years old. It's actually really amazing what whoever made him managed, given the limitations he must have been dealing with. Oh, I did also find out that whatever that was, it wasn't actually Ted."

Buffy looks confused.

"How do you mean?"

Willow takes a bite of her sandwich. Then a sip of milk.

"There is a computer in him, but it isn't much more powerful than a scientific calculator. It's pretty much just connected to a transmitter and receiver. It isn't smart in and of itself, Ted exists on a big old computer somewhere. This thing was just a puppet. Made sense once I thought about it, twenty years ago a computer that would have had any chance to run something like Ted would fill a room. Even now, assuming you sort out all the code it would have to be a screaming machine. Better than anything I've ever seen. Whoever worked all this out was a genius. Oh, and one other thing."

She stops to take another drink of milk.

"I don't want to cause undue stress when we already have so much on our plates, but looking into Ted should probably be done sooner rather than later. He's been receiving maintenance from somebody or something. At least as recently as five years ago based on some serial numbers I tracked down. So... Yeah. Does anybody want my mini chocolate bar? I think I ruined my appetite."

Authors Note:

I know, I know. Heavy on the weapon specifics that like one reader in ten actually cares about. Hopefully it wasn't too painful for the rest of you.

As for Cordelia's response to the lesbian question, you need to remember that twenty years ago attitudes like that were pretty common. Probably still are, though I dialed my "give a shit" to way low on such things long ago and adopted a live and let live policy. But back then, you could be as gay as you wanted as long as you were successful in one of a few career choices and then to most people you transcended "Gay" somehow and were instead "Eccentric." People are weird.

Anyway, see you next time.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Hooked on a feeling.

Two days later, just after dark.

Buffy crept up on the home of what they were were referring to as Ted-Bot with more than a little trepidation. While she is more than capable of fighting in any kind of environment, the tighter the space, the more dangerous things tended to get for her.

She draws her interim sword, as Alex had gone ahead and put a full polish on the one she liked and made a scabbard for it to keep her armed while she worked on the magical version. Between that and Ravage padding along behind her, with DW somewhere outside keeping an eye on things, she was as strong as she was going to get now that Angel was gone.

The thought makes her pause for a moment. But only a moment. While she would likely never admit it to anybody, with the perspective that comes with time the final minutes of the one she knew as Angel were... Well, damning is what they were. Could he have continued on, after what he had done?

Would she want to know him if he could?

She knows what Alex would say. She'd say he could obviously continue on with memories like that, since he'd done it before. Willow would try to be supportive, but it hadn't escaped anyone's knowledge that when she was monitoring patrols with Alex she had an extra screen dedicated to flipping through the hacked security cameras in the orphanage. It was like watching a fuzzy slide show. But she kept an eye on it anyway.

She gives the handle a twist and shove, then crouches next to the door as Ravage steps carefully inside. Then the report comes in from Alex.

"Okay Slayer, first room is a pretty typical living room if you were a refugee from the sixties. Complete with shag carpet and a wood box TV set that looks like it could be a boat anchor for an aircraft carrier. No movement in the room, and Skite doesn't see anything outside."

Buffy nods, knowing that DW will be watching her. Then she slips inside.

"Ugh, Q. You forgot to mention the shag carpet was bright orange. I'm gonna puke over here."

So on it went, room to room. After maybe fifteen minutes and not finding anything unusual, Giles and Jenny are called in from the car that is parked out front. They are almost to the door when Buffy holds up a hand to stop them.

"Slayer to Red Tree, please repeat."

Willow sounds a little apologetic even over the phone.

"Red Tree here. Sorry, I forgot the radio speak things. But something just occurred to me. We are really being stupid."

"Q here. How so?"

"I know it's you, Q, I'm in the room with you."

"Slayer here. I might not have?"

Willow is sounding exasperated.

"How could you have possibly not known? You knew it wasn't you and it probably wasn't me talking to myself!"

"Q here. Please, Red Tree. Focus. What are we doing that is stupid?"

Willow comes back on the line, somewhat calmer.

"Oh, yeah. Well, unless Ted has upgraded its transmitter and receiver by a lot, there has to be a pretty good sized antenna somewhere considering how much information had to get sent and received all the time. If it's on this property, there can't be that many places it could be hiding. I would probably check the roof, attic, and garage first. If he hid it in the walls, then that sucks and we'll probably have to come back with stud finders and stuff. But if it is just sitting out somewhere and we disable it, unless there's a backup a lot of the potential danger will be poof. Gone."

Buffy smiles.

"Slayer to Red Tree. That's brilliant. We are totally going to follow up on that. Q, can you have Skite check the roof and attic? I'll hit the garage with Ravage."

There is a few moments of silence.

"This is Q. Already on it. Red Tree, what am I looking for? This guy has a TV antenna on the roof but I don't know if it is just that or if it also runs the death bots. How do I tell?"

Willow hops back on the line, obviously cheerful since they seem to have liked her idea.

"Check the base of the array for cable hookups. If there is more than one, than it is probably the problem. But since the hookups can be under the roofing if the guy was smart, I would probably take it out anyway just to be safe."

"Slayer here. I'm in the garage. There is some kind of tube metal monstrosity in the rafters here. I am guessing it either is the transmitter or it is the backup for the one on the roof. I assume cutting the cable running into the floor will kill it?"

"Yeah, just go ahead and cut it. I mean, Red Tree here. I mean... Can I get a one word code name? This feels dumb now that I am using it a lot."

"Q here. No. You can't change your name in the middle of a mission. Slayer, you said the cable went into the floor in the garage, correct? The poured concrete floor garage?"

"Slayer here, yeah, why? Oh... Right. So we need to find out what's under the garage then."

"Q here. I had to use DW's acid bolt on the base to weaken it enough to topple, but the roof antenna is down. I am gonna keep DW outside on perimeter lookout and am sending in Skite. He has an eye for details."

"Slayer here. Cable is cut, and the only weirdness I can find in the garage is that cable going under it and this funky old car sitting in it."

"Red here. If there is no access in the garage, you might double check the house for stairs to a basement. Actually, if we are right and it's just been a robot living and working out of that house for twenty years, you might just look for wear and tear on that orange shag that you hate. I can't see him needing to go anywhere else, it isn't like it needs to eat, poop, or shower."

Alex has Skite risk turning on the living room lights and look around.

"Q here. Score one for Red Tree. There is a path basically worn into the carpet that leads to the linen closet in the hall. Twenty years of stepping in the same damn footprints. I hope this thing isn't an actual artificial intelligence, or it's life would be so boring it would almost have to be a mercy killing."

Ten minutes later, Buffy, Giles, Jenny, Ravage, and Skite are all feeling around the linen closet trying to figure out how to open it.

Jenny is the first to say anything of substance.

"What if the thing opens remotely?"

Giles looks at her a little funny, so she clarifies.

"You know, like a garage door opener. If that's the case we could paw around at this all day and never get in, because there won't be a hidden switch to find."

Buffy shrugs. "Slayer here. Would you mind bringing DW in for a minute? I need to break some things and it would be nice not to be overheard."

Five minutes later, DW is back outside and the rest of them are going down a staircase into a hidden basement. In it they find a computer terminal, a few large storage racks full of parts, and what looks to be a metal bed with claw machine style arms and attachments hanging over it and a Ted unit laid out in a partially assembled form.

Of course, the complete Ted unit that is laying motionless on its back is also of note.

Jenny sits down at the computer terminal while Giles looks over her shoulder and Buffy checks out the rest of the basement.

Of the two doors that she can see leading to other parts of the basement, the first leads to a bathroom that is so full of undisturbed dust that it has obviously not seen use since the original owner died. The second leads to a sealed room full of beds.

On each bed is the rotten, desiccated corpse of a woman that has been sealed in clear plastic.

Buffy can't help but notice that they all have hair color the exact same as her mothers.

Meanwhile, Jenny has been having a chat with a terminal. When she sits down on the odd integrated bench style seat, there is a click sound and the screen comes on. Moments later a message appears on the screen.

'Why have you damaged me?'

Jenny looks at Giles. "What should I tell it?"

Giles ponders for a moment.

"Tell it that it performed a chemical attack on our friend and this is our response to that attack."

Jenny does so. A few seconds later, a new message appears.

'Love is hard to find. But easy to create. Love is good, so it is created. You respond to love with violence. You exist outside normal operating parameters.'

Buffy calls out to them at this time.

"Guys, there is like four dead women in plastic over here. Ted has been busy."

Jenny, feeling a little sick, types in a response.

'Why did you kill the women in the other room?'

The immediate response is a question mark. After a few more seconds, it is elaborated on.

'Your inquiry is based on false premise. Ted has not killed any women.'

Jenny shakes her head.

"Giles, I know this sounds crazy, but my gut is telling me that this thing isn't lying. I am not saying he isn't at fault, but I don't think it believes it is responsible."

Buffy at this point is standing behind them.

"Ask it what happened to the one that died in the red dress."

Jenny does so. The answer makes them all cringe.

'Lisa Foster. Age 45. Became deceased under the influence of love when she left the home at night and was killed by a hostile humanoid. Ted was unhappy. Collected body. Destroyed hostile.'

With a sinking heart, Buffy taps Jenny on the shoulder.

"Now the one in jeans and a t-shirt."

Jenny does so, and again the response id horrifying.

'Elizabeth Jennings. Age 36. Invited stranger into home under the influence of love. Stranger damaged her sufficiently to render her deceased by the time this was discovered. Ted was unhappy. Collected body. Tracked down and destroyed stranger.'

Buffy asks about the other two, which are essentially the same. It is Giles who puts voice to what they are thinking.

"This man created a machine that is dedicated to making a woman happy. Either the creator or the machine itself found that drugs were the quickest and easiest way to reach the 'love' state it was programmed to achieve. I would imagine that it was actually quite good at keeping them happy, after a fashion. But being constantly stoned out of your mind is a bad survival choice on a Hellmouth."

"Q here. Been listening in. Hey, Slayer. Ask Jenny if she can fix this thing? Make it so that it is less concerned about love and more concerned about keeping people alive. If we can fix the programming, get this beast under control, I see potential here."

"Slayer to Q, have you lost your mind? This thing has already killed four women!"

"Red here. No, Q has a point. Technically, the machine was trying to keep them safe and happy. It just didn't do so good. But getting past that, its a machine. Blaming it is like blaming the car instead of the drunk driver. We just need to do some work on the car and I can see things working out, as long as we can tweak the programming and put in some safeguards."

Giles looks pointedly at Buffy.

"What are you three going on about?"

Buffy rolls her eyes.

"Alex wants to know if Jenny can rework this thing so we can use it to defend the Hellmouth."

Jenny grins.

"Actually, yeah. We probably can. I mean, it will take a while to sort out the programming but since we apparently don't really need to add much, just remove the fascination with 'love' and input a protective streak towards a few people, maybe make sure it has a submissive tendency towards the same..."

Buffy makes a gagging sound.

"So you want to remove the capacity for love and make it submissive to a group of woman and Giles. Why does this sound like you are just looking for a battery operated boyfriend?"

Jenny smirks and goes to open her mouth, then reconsiders.

"Please reign it in a bit, Buffy. There isn't a lot I can say to respond that wouldn't be considered callous as hell right now."

Buffy scowls and then looks down.

"Okay. That's fair. But seriously, what are we going to do now?"

Jenny stands up from the bench and the monitor flicks off again.

"Well, I did a quick diagnostic spell on the system, and the brain of this guy is behind that wall under the garage, right where we figured it was. I guess it is up to the group, but my vote is to find the mainframe, make sure it isn't connected to anything and try to fix it up like Alex was saying. Even if we never use it, I could learn a lot from it."

In the end, that's what they end up doing. Buffy isn't thrilled, and Giles is a bit lukewarm on the idea. But the knowledge that 'Ted-Bots' were capable of killing the local nightlife made it to good a possibility to pass up.

The next afternoon, approaching the Chase residence.

Cordelia turns to Alex as she drives them to her home after school.

"First, your name is Alexis. None of this Alex crap around my mother. Second, she is going to expect you to be a little snooty. Fashion designers are always a little snooty, so if you aren't it won't matter to her how good you are. Appearances are everything at this level, especially with things that are based on opinion. If you sound and act like you know what you are doing, she'll treat you like you do. If you fuck up and sound like you, this is dead in the water."

Alex looks at her confused.

"Are you trying to make your mom sound like the most shallow person on the face of the earth or am I just hearing this wrong?"

Instead of the snarky response that she expects, Cordelia nods.

"When it comes to things like upwards social climbing, absolutely she is shallow. Shallow is how you win at social games. Deep people have weaknesses. Shallow people can always put their feet down and not drown. So in this, she'll be shallow. She will want the best chance to climb the ladder with the least chance of making an error that costs face."

Alex shakes her head.

"And in order for me to look good to her, I have to be a shallow, snooty, bitch too, huh?"

Cordelia nods as she turns into the driveway.

"That's about the size of it. If it makes you feel any better, once you have made a name for yourself it won't matter so much anymore. Then you can be whoever you want and other people will make excuses for you, calling you eccentric, or lost in your creativity, or overly dedicated to your one true love as an artist. You know, that kinda crap. But until then you need to play the game. Play it well, and you'll need like ten more pixies by summertime just to meet the demand. Then we can start making real money from people that actually have it to spend instead of this chump change of the high school kids.

"Cordy, we ARE high school kids."

She puts the car in park and flashes a vicious grin.

"Only for another year and a half, and neither of us are dealing in chump change anymore."

Walking into the Chase residence is like strolling into a really boring museum. There are a lot of nice pieces, but there is no little plaque to tell you anything about them. The art gallery is far superior.

Mrs. Chase walks down the stairs from the second floor slowly, one hand on the rail as she peers expectantly at Alex who is smirking openly at a piece on the wall.

Mrs. Chase walks up behind her.

"It's a beautiful piece, isn't it? Local artist that the gallery downtown has managed to hide from us so that she can continue to make her dirty little commissions."

Alex bravely manages to stifle a smirk as she turns to the woman and sticks out her hand with a broad smile.

"The New York Skyline was fun, but for what it's worth the Golden Gate Bridge was the hardest to get right. All that steel and cabling was a nightmare to burn into the wood convincingly. Also, you should know that Joyce is a friend of mine before you tiptoe any further down that particular line of conversation."

Behind her mother, Cordelia face palms and Mrs. Chase looks at Alex with a shocked smile creeping across her face.

"This is your work? You are this A.H. Person?"

Alex nods. "Yuppers. Alexis Harrison. At your service. Cordelia was saying that you were looking into something unique for your wardrobe?"

"Well I was considering it, but now I wonder if I might prevail upon you to produce a custom piece for my walls?"

Alex smiles. "Sure. Tell me what you want and I'll have it hanging in Joyce's gallery as soon as I can."

Mrs. Chase's smile falters slightly.

"That wasn't really what I meant."

Alex nods and starts walking around the room, looking at some of the other art on the walls.

"I know, but I like Joyce and I want her business to succeed. Buffy is a good friend of mine as well. Besides, if I made an exception for you, I would soon have no time to do what I wanted for all the requests I would have. Much better for me this way. For you maybe not so much, but I find I can weather the disappointment of others with near infinite fortitude."

Mrs. Chase looks confused for a moment, as though trying to reconcile the child before her and somehow not getting her own way in spite of her money was proving difficult. Then she smiles.

"You don't actually need any funding, do you? You are already turning a profit."

Alex nods. "That is the case, yeah. I mean, I can always have more money, who can't, right?" But I make enough now to be a little picky on the jobs I take. A lot of that is thanks to Cordelia, actually. She is far better at dealing with the plebeians than I am, sorting out the ones that have the class to afford me from those that are at their core worthless."

Cordelia is beaming at her from behind her mother's back.

Alex feels like a grade 'A' schmuck, but it seems to be working.

Mrs. Chase laughs, not the full belly laugh of true amusement, but rather the light laughter of someone being polite at a dinner party. Thought the smile she wears seams real enough.

"Very well Alexis. I could do for a bit of new style in my wardrobe. We can revisit some of your other talents another day."

Two hours later, Cordelia is giving her a lift home and she has dickered out five thousand dollars worth of clothing.

It'll take about four days.

Authors note.

Yes. I wrote this entire chapter just so I could have that ridiculousness over the magic radios where Willow gets tired of her name and they have a spat about radio protocol.

I am a sick, sick, man.

I know, people were probably expecting a big Ol' fight scene. I was actually expecting to write one. Then I got to thinking about it. With both Willow and Jenny directly involved, the easy win was gonna be thought of. It's just too obvious.

As for Ted, well, If I am gonna keep Jenny around, I may as well keep her busy, right? :P


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Alas, poor minion. We barely knew thee.

Wednesday, just after school in the library.

Alex laughs as she turns to the rest of the crew.

"So you all got taken over by weird little egg monsters? That's freaking hysterical."

Buffy looks at her, scowling. Well, legitimately they all look at her scowling but Buffy is the one to say something.

"Hey, I didn't. And whatever happened to you wearing your earpiece? I could have used some help. It doesn't do me much good to wear mine if you aren't wearing yours."

Alex offers an apologetic half-smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that. My guess is that I was working at the forge with the sound cut out when you keyed up."

Jenny gives her a sour look.

"You were supposed to be home sick, not playing around with molten metals."

Alex holds her hands up in a calming gesture.

"Hey, I was sick. When I got up. Felt like crap."

She lowers her voice until it is barely heard by the Slayer.

"And I fixed that crap with a potion like instantly."

Buffy just can't let it go though.

"What! You skipped Monday and Tuesday over a sickness you got rid of by chugging down a freaking potion?!"

Alex rolls her eyes.

"Hey, I was legitimate sick with a fever of like a hundred and two. A hundred of two equals two days off. Not my fault I have a better health care plan than most, and I refuse to be penalized out of my days away from this pit just because I do, so stuff it Buffy! But that out of the way, is everybody all right?"

Willow is still looking peeved, and Buffy irked. Alex isn't sure which is which, but she's sure there is a difference. Giles, however, is the one who responds.

"Everybody appears to have made a full recovery. Though Buffy has had a run in with a rather infamous vampire that we will need to keep an eye open for. One of the Gorch brothers. Lyle, I believe is the one that got away based on her description."

Alex turns to Giles as he is speaking.

"So, what are they infamous for?"

Giles give Xander a confused look.

"How do you mean? They are well over a hundred years old, and are unbelievably callous and cruel."

Alex gives the watcher a bit of an odd look.

"Giles, you just described the sleeping bag my dad made me use the one time we actually went camping. Please tell me you have more than that."

Giles takes off and polishes his glasses.

"Fine. They are less 'infamous' than they are stupid and willing to work for greater evils for shockingly small rewards. But Lyle has been a vampire for a very long time, is both a cunning and powerful opponent even if he isn't particularly intelligent in a book sense, and I try to impress upon my slayer the dangers inherent in her duty when I can to see to it that she survives the night. Forgive me for trying to spice things up a bit."

Alex considers.

"Okay. That's fair."

Willow is the next to speak as everybody is thinking about this Gorch vamp.

"Honestly, Giles I don't think that some stupid vampire is the real problem right now. Have any of you looked at the newspaper yet?"

Jenny looks over from where she is playing around with Ted code on her laptop.

"You mean about the epidemic that hit town? Yeah, I did. Pretty scary stuff. High fever, sore throat, lack of appetite. The hospital in town as well as every clinic that has bed space is full up. There is talk of the Center for Disease Control quarantining the town until they can figure out what it is. Honestly, it's probably what you had, Alex, before you cheated."

Giles narrows his eyes.

"It seems unlikely that a disease like this could go from unheard of to such a disaster so quickly. What were the symptoms in their entirety?"

Jenny pulls up the newspaper article on her computer.

"Fever between a hundred and two and a hundred and four, seeming to hit adults over thirty harder. Sore throat, cough, nasal issues, lack of appetite or thirst, muscle aches and pains that exceed what the fever would tend to cause, and some of the earliest cases are starting to slip into delirious and violent states. They have had to strap people to beds."

Giles nods as he heads back towards the office.

"Buffy, gather your things. We shall need to make a trip to the hospital to verify my suspicions."

Jenny looks towards Giles.

"What suspicions are those?"

The voice of Giles comes from the office.

"Given all the players in town and the hate filled desperation that Spike must be feeling, it seems probable that this is a mystically backed illness. Given the symptoms I would guess that he has gotten a hold of an Amulet of Bad Humors."

Alex looks at him in confusion as the older gentleman walks out of the office.

"I don't think crappy stand-up actually makes people sick, G-man."

Giles rolls his eyes.

"Not quite the same thing. In ancient times, health, and therefore ill health, was explained by way of "Humors" in the body. Total rubbish, from a scientific perspective, but somewhat viable from a mystical one. These amulets were created specifically to be used during sieges and such. A population that is sick, dying, and fighting each other has a tough time dealing with an invading force."

Jenny punches a few more things into her computer.

"How do we stop it?"

Giles goes to a shelf and grabs a musty old tome of unfortunately not quite forgotten or unneeded knowledge.

"While the illness itself, once created, is a normal virus in most senses it does contain a trace of the magic that spawned it. Assuming that I am correct, we can then use that trace to track down the bearer of the amulet. The only concern is that the closer we get to the bearer the more vile and debilitating the illness will become. Given the range on such things, I give it fair odds that we have all been infected. So getting closer to the source will undoubtedly be painful."

Alex breaks into the conversation again here.

"If we can get close, Ravage and DW aren't susceptible to illness. We could use them to deal with the problem. But Giles, why would a vampire want to randomly kill thousands of people with a disease? I mean, vamps need blood, right? Kill everybody, who are they going to feed on?"

Buffy responds to this.

"Who knows. But honestly, I doubt he is thinking too clearly. You killed his girlfriend. He might be just planning to burn the town to the ground and move on."

Giles shakes his head and turns to Buffy.

"We have no proof yet that Spike is even the one responsible. Though I agree that putting half the town in the hospital makes little sense unless he has some agenda that requires their homes are empty. The first step is to verify my suspicions and cast a spell to track the charm. Buffy, come along. I would recommend, Alex, that you take some time to create more of whatever that potion was in case we need it when this is done. But I have no authority to order it."

With that he walks out, Alex heads home to work in her shop with Willow and Jenny who spend some time trying to use the hospitals medical records to find out where the amulet had been.

The call from Giles comes an hour later, and Jenny answers the phone. After a short conversation she gets Alex's attention in the garage.

"His hunch was right, it's the amulet. Willow and I tried to run it down through the street addresses of the victims, but it's all over Sunnydale. He says he'll have the tracker spell ready by midnight and wanted to know if you would be willing to back up the slayer when she goes in?"

The quirked eyebrow of 'what the fuck do you think?' is Alex's only response as she heads to her room.

At midnight, she keys up the mic.

"Q to Slayer, come in Slayer."

The response is quick.

"Slayer here. Giles is just finishing up the spell now. Though how sprinkling powders and a sick person's blood on a forked stick equals finding an amulet I have no idea."

Willow keys in at this point from her position at Alex's desk.

"Red here. He is using dousing rod principles. Not a bad idea if the books I read are accurate. It's a temporary charm but it should last long enough to get this done."

"Q here. Look, Slayer, I have a few more potions that should help if you get sick and a few more that can probably help with symptoms even if they don't actually fix the problem. But since I don't know if using a potion to deal with it will actually grant you the antibodies to keep you immune to it and I have a small supply, try not to ask for it unless you really need it or the amulet is wrecked, okay? I can have Skite shuttle one out to you in a hurry if it gets critical for you. Now tell me where are you guys are headed, I'll send the crew out to meet you."

"Right now we are in the library. We can meet them here and then Ravage can do laps around the Giles-mobile while we are running this down."

Alex and Willow hear a rather indignant snort and the words 'classic car' faintly over the earpieces.

"No, it's not, Giles! That car is the saddest thing on the road! The garbage trucks make fun of it. It sits on the street every night crying itself to sleep hoping that some drunk driver will put it out of it's misery!"

"Red here. Wow Buffy. That's harsh."

There is silence for a few seconds and then Willow and Buffy both faintly hear Alex grumble

"But not inaccurate."

Buffy doesn't even bother to call out who she is at this point.

"Anyways, we are going to be heading out. I see Skite and Ravage out here. Where's DW?"

Alex snorts.

"He's pretty slow in comparison. Right now he is hovering over the center of town, a thousand feet up or so. Once you have a direction I'll have him vector to meet you there."

Alex can almost hear the nod she assumes the slayer is giving her as the two climb into Giles' ancient Citroen and start heading generally north at a snail's pace.

A half hour later it becomes obvious both that they are close and that the amulet is moving. Also, that they will need to deal with this quickly as Giles has started to feel a deep ache set into his bones that can only be a fever that is skyrocketing out of control.

Soon, they see what appears to be a man out for a midnight stroll. Leisurely walking along the sidewalk seemingly without a care in the world. They drive by him once, and the fork unerringly turns to face the man, so Giles pulls over and Buffy gets out, wiping the gathering sweat from her brow as her own illness makes itself known.

"Slayer to Q, are you close? I think we have our problem child."

"Q here. Yup. Anytime you're ready DW has a bead on him and Ravage is waiting just around the next corner."

Buffy walks up to the man, getting more and more ill with every step. Finally, he turns to face her with a wide smirk across his vampiric features.

"Slayer! So nice of you to join me. Spike said you would catch on soon. Now that it was too late."

he starts closing the last few feet between them at a slow pace, his smile unnerving as Buffy sees the amulet dangling from his neck on a long chain.

"Slayer to Q, I have confirmation. We are go."

The vampire looks at her curiously.

"I freely admit that I am no tactical genius, Spike keeps me around mostly for my research skills after all. But unless you are already going delirious I gotta know, just who do you expect is going to save you? There's nobody else here but your worthless watcher in the car, probably sicker than you and only sticking around to take notes on how you're gonna die."

As if to answer the unspoken request for comedic timing, that is the exact instant that Ravages jaws close around the right ankle of the vampire from behind, thrashing and shredding flesh and bone.

The bloodsuckers scream is frantic as he falls over, crying red tears as the magical effects of the mechanical cat's jaws are applied over and over, every six seconds or so, while Buffy watches through the ruined suit as his entire leg begins to blacken and rot.

"Tell me who you are and why Spike is doing this and we'll end the pain for you."

His eyes go wide as she uses her sword to snap the chain on the amulet, then toss the offending device on he ground and smash it to a million pieces with the pommel hammer

"You just offered to kill me for information. Why would I ever agree with that?"

A second later, a crossbow bolt enters his groin from somewhere above. Buffy grins.

"Because you want the pain to stop, obviously."

The vampires screams are getting strangled as the mechanical beast is now gnawing on his thigh and the black taint is beginning to enter his stomach area.

"Oh, god. My name's Dalton. Spike wants the hospitals full of sick people for when he finishes the Judge. Probably tomorrow, unless something goes wrong."

Buffy looks confused.

"The Judge?"

"Some kind of demon that uses human's souls as the fuel to burn them alive. I really don't know any more than that. Spike has gone completely crazy. I don't even know where he is staying from day to day. He doesn't trust anybody anymore."

Buffy looks at him down her nose a bit.

"Sooo... You are basically admitting to being entirely worthless at this point, then?"

The vampire whimpers in pain and defeat.

"Yeah, I guess so."

He never sees the swing that takes his head off.

Authors note:

Okay. Sorry for the short update folks, my muse has been giving me a lot of trouble the last few days and I am certain that it has nothing to do with my post birthday headache / blahs. Honest.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

The meeting in the library the next morning is troubled, at best. Buffy turns to Giles as he comes out of his office, bloodshot eyes and the same shirt as yesterday giving mute testimony to his lack of sleep that night.

"So, watcher mine, what's the big deal about this Judge thing?"

The older gentleman sits down heavily as he takes in the room occupants. Jenny, sitting next to him and reaching out now to cover his hand with her own. Willow, on the library computer and plucking away at the keyboard doing whatever digital voodoo it is that she does so well. Buffy, of course, somewhat hiding her concern for his exhausted condition with a mask of valley girl indifference. Alex, apparently as exhausted as Giles is himself, half asleep with her head on a large canvas bag that is sitting on the table.

"According to my research, the Judge is a demon that, much like your vampire Dalton said, is capable of burning out the humanity of a person, thereby killing them. I was unable to find a text that would confirm that the 'humanity' is actually the soul, but the revelation is unsurprising. The Judge was torn apart and the pieces scattered to the ends of the earth thousands of years ago. If William has collected them together he has gone to extraordinary lengths to do so. Frankly, there are far easier methods to destroy humanity than to reassemble the Judge. I somewhat doubt we will ever know for certain, but I find it highly likely that his, or possibly Drusilla's, true intention was to destroy the soul in Angel, thus releasing once again Angelus. If I am correct, than this particular apocalyptic threat has the distinction of being the first I can recall where the destruction of humanity is merely a side effect of the original intent, rather than the intended goal."

The rest of the room looks at him expectantly when he stops talking. After a few moments, a somewhat worried sounding Willow speaks to him.

"So, how do we beat him?"

Giles removes his glasses, closes his eyes, and holds the bridge of his nose. His voice is strained, as though he truly has no idea how to say what he must and the words fall from his tongue like puss might drain from an infected wound.

"I truly do not know. Ideally, we would stop him from being put together in the first place. But with no clue where the fiend is, we must plan on his revival going through. The last time he was defeated, he was subdued after a battle that lasted days, and more than a thousand men were slain by him before they were able to cut him into enough pieces to render him more or less harmless. He is rumored to be immune to weapons forged by man, and tales of his conquests would tend to validate the rumor. I have contacted the council, Buffy, and requested Kendra be sent here. I feel that our best hope is that with two slayers, we may be able to tear the beast apart before you both die. I have been told that it will take her three days to arrive. I am convinced we don't have that kind of time, but as Kendra is apparently out of touch somewhere in the Australian outback hunting down something or other, it's the best they can do."

Alex looks up to Giles from where she has been resting her head.

"Wait a second. If he is immune to weapons forged by man, how in the hell did a bunch of jumped up neanderthals kill the guy last time?"

Giles has moved to cleaning his glasses now, though he does answer.

"After four days of fighting, one of the knights who was feeling the effects and suspected he was doomed anyway ran the demon over with his horse and killed it as it was standing on the Judge. The weight of the heavy armored creature and the now dead rider kept the Judge trapped long enough to attach ropes to his extremities. He was drawn and quartered. While I applaud the efforts of that knight, we appear to be lacking the horse it would take to use his methods."

Buffy can't help herself and smiles. A slight giggle escapes her mouth.

Giles looks at her as though she has lost her mind.

"Buffy, this is no laughing matter. You've not been closer to death since the Master."

While this does stop her giggles, it does nothing to curb the smile she wears.

"Giles? I think I have finally found a use for your car."

Everyone else in the library can't help but smile, Giles however merely looks confused.

"How does my car factor... Wait. You are not seriously suggesting that we attempt to park my car on this demon, are you? My car that has perhaps six inches of clearance?"

Alex grimaces, but nods.

"He has a point. We are going to need something bigger. A bus maybe, or a truck. But that said I can maybe help with this. I dug around in the shop and my "In case of Apocalypse" bag on the way out the door today."

Reaching into the bag, she pulls out plastic garbage bags full of leather armor sets that have been styled to look like something a movie star would wear while riding a crotch rocket style motorcycle. In addition, she carefully pulls out a small rectangular box, smiles at it for a moment, and then places it on the table so when it opens, it faces the rest of the table. Opening it she reveals that it contains two metal balls, perhaps a bit smaller than golf balls, that are covered in what look to be red stained runes of one sort or another. They shimmer in the florescent lighting with a subtle malevolence.

Jenny quirks and eyebrow while Buffy looks confused and Willow turns as red as a ripe tomato. Giles just takes off his glasses to clean them again. Jenny is the one to say something, though it has trouble slipping past her tight grin.

"So, Alex. I want you to know that I am very glad you are embracing your new femininity, but don't you think ben wa balls are a reveal only in the bedroom toy?"

Willow covers her face. Buffy realizes what Jenny is talking about and blushes fire engine red while trying not to giggle.

Giles looks at the ceiling and softly proclaims to the heavens: "We're doomed."

Alex is now the only one that looks confused.

"Ben what balls? What? No, this is a set of blast globes. You chuck'em at the bad guys and they go off like a bomb. Should at least knock'em on their ass and it may even bring a little death to the occasion."

Jenny can't help herself as she breaks into gales of laughter, occasionally half snorting "little death" as she can when she can catch a breath.

Willow is still hiding her eyes, but the broad smile she is wearing is no longer able to hide completely behind her hands.

Buffy has put her head on the table for support and is now slapping it, trying to get her mirth under control.

Giles is the only one to respond intelligently.

"Alex, put those away before the situation degenerates any further. You are welcome to ask Miss Calendar later what is so humorous, for right now we need to make a plan."

A slight grin crosses his own lips but he fights it back quickly as Jenny has almost gained control and is looking up as Ripper grabs the microphone that lives deep in the psyche of Giles for just a moment.

"Now explain to us how you expect coming with a box will factor in the little death supplied by your balls."

It is almost ten minutes before things calm down enough for them to continue. Giles spends it fighting a laugh as he looks at the ceiling while polishing his glasses once again.

Alex still looks confused.

A whispered explanation from Jenny later, followed by a few more minutes of laughter as everybody finally burns the last of their chuckles from their system, Alex elaborates.

"Okay, yeah. Laugh it up. Look Buffy, if we can catch these clowns in the parking lot just hold one of them in each hand palms up, and will them to attack. They're self guiding missiles that will explode when they reach the spot that you've decided on. They blast big, both hot and loud. Something like a twenty foot radius becomes essentially hell for an instant. We probably won't have a lot of time to get things done after that, so we'll need to be quick if we use these. And whatever you do, don't lose the box. They reappear there and recharge. They can be used once a day, but they are pretty much big problems only. Using them is gonna be a mess, I figure I should probably keep them locked up most of the time."

Giles looks curiously at the box.

"May I ask the range on this device, as well as how long it took you to create?"

Alex nods. "About four hundred feet. It took a smidgen over a week to make the set and about three grand in parts, believe it or not. I'm just glad platinum is comparatively cheaper here and a lot more pure than it was where I put these things together last time. It enabled me to make them quite a bit smaller and still keep things reasonable." She offers a smirk to Jenny, being now in on the joke. "The standard variety is about the size of your fist."

Buffy smiles, while Jenny collapses into a fit of giggles wherein she gasps out the word 'fisting. Buffy's thoughts also are still giggling silently at Alex's box. She turns to her friend curiously though.

"Not that I'm mad, because I'm totally not, but why did you make these things? It isn't like we can use them much. I mean, they are gonna totally come in handy now, but it's weird that you already had them put together."

Alex gives her a quick nod.

"No, I get it. I originally built them in case we ran into hordes of vamps like the master had again. Since you weren't going to let me go with you on patrol, I wanted a way to give you a weapon of last resort, kinda. The plan down the road is to add some fire and sonic resistance to your armor. I probably can't stop the damage altogether, the fire damage is pretty huge. But I should be able to eventually get you to the point that you can use it point blank and survive. You won't be happy, but you won't be dead and they should be. Obviously the best plan is to use it on them where it won't hit you, but... Sometimes that isn't possible."

Alex looks around the table.

"I have some better ideas, but I need to do testing on those, they'll take forever to put together, and they will be crazy expensive. This thing was relatively cheap and quick. And we didn't have anything as a backup, last resort kinda thing."

The nods around the table encourage Willow to speak up.

"According to the official building diagrams in city hall, the hospital doesn't have any kind of underground access. So they are probably going to come up from the sewers somewhere close by. If those balls of yours have a four hundred foot range, couldn't a couple of us be on the roof like spotters, and use them when they get, you know, spotted?"

Giles nods.

"Not a bad idea at all. If we can find a way to get a couple of crossbows up there we could potentially be even more useful. The hospital being only three stories, the shot ranges will be long, but not insurmountable."

Alex nods.

"I have a backpack I made that uses extra dimensional space. Looks like something a girl my size would keep books in. Big enough inside that between the two side pockets and the main one you could put most of a car in it if you ripped it up small enough to place it inside, and no matter what you put in the thing it weighs five pounds. I also have a spare crossbow that was gonna be a second homunculus like Drop Waddle but I got distracted. You'll need to use the toe hook, but if you can draw the thing it is a hell of a lot more accurate than this garbage Giles has."

She turns to the man.

"Sorry, but most of your stuff really is crap. You know that, right?"

Giles just rolls his eyes.

Jenny at this point offers her two bits.

"As for a truck, we could just rent a moving van under an assumed name. Something that would survive a check they could perform wouldn't be that tough to fabricate and with that hat Alex has we could look like whatever identification we could scrounge up. It wouldn't even need to look like us."

Willow looks more than a little shocked.

"But wouldn't that just screw over whoever was the real person?"

Alex can't help but smile.

"No, she's right. But we'll need to find the right person to screw over first. On a completely unrelated topic, has principal Snyder been in today? I might need to talk to him."

That night, at nine in the evening.

Usually she doesn't feel guilty about this kind of thing. Laying in her bed while the Homunculus are backing up Buffy. But usually, Giles, Jenny, and Willow are not hanging out on a rooftop waiting for their souls to be used as kindling.

"Q calling Slayer and Red. DW, Ravage, and Skite are go if somebody wants to let them out of the back of the truck."

"Slayer here. Getting the door now."

Willows voice comes over the line.

"So, we're here. What do we do if he doesn't show up? Just hang out here all night?"

"Slayer here. He'll be here, Red. We got rid of his little minion creep and broke the toy that's making everybody sick. He'll show because every day he doesn't things get worse for his odds."

They almost miss it.

By two in the morning, fatigue has set in for everybody, and Skite has made two special trips out to roof of the hospital with thermoses of coffee for everybody.

It is when he is is heading back for the third that the small automaton notices a sewer cover in the road being moved and reports it.

"Q to crew, I have movement from the sewers on main st. I have a confirmed visual on Spike, at least a dozen other vampires, and some big blue demon thing. Betting Darth Smurf here is your "Judge" character. I think we will be go for plan in about thirty seconds."

Spike seethed. His Dru is dead. Angelus is gone. Darla dusted. They'd had a good run, well, Angelus had most of one. But part of that run is making a lot of enemies. Good guys, bad guys. People hated him that couldn't even remember anymore why they did. Without Dru and her special brand of precognitive craziness keeping him a step ahead of the hordes, he needs either allies or there to be a lot fewer mother fuckers out there looking for him.

The Judge will get him that.

Oh, there is basically no chance the thing will destroy humanity like it thinks it will. Like the watchers fear it can. They read way to much into that "No weapon forged" crap. Spike is a vamp of the world, and he is well aware that if a bunch a mounted morons could take this guy out then the worst case scenario is the Judge has a bit of a holiday before somebody panics and pushes a button that turns southern California into a radioactive wasteland. That would effectively deal with the Judge, everybody here that he hates assuming the Judge hasn't already killed them, and it will likely either pop the cap on the hellmouth which will keep the good guys too busy to screw with him for a few hundred years, or it will turn the area the hell mouth is in into a radioactive cesspool that will be all but impossible to defend. Which will keep them out of his hair for probably even longer.

He has let his vampires, mostly idiots that he has turned in the last couple of weeks, go ahead. He and the Judge walk in the back. The Judge. Damnit all, it'll be nice when they have ripped this blowhard apart again. All he's said since he woke up yesterday is that Spike is too focused on vengeance as an emotion rather than destruction as a state of being. Over and over to the point of wanting to superglue those blue lips shut.

Spike happens to glance up as they walk forward and sees something that sends a chill down his spine.

The Watcher. The fucking Watchers. Holding his hands out like he is waiting for cuffs or...

When he sees the twin orbs streaking down towards their location, Spike doesn't bother to say anything, merely sprints away. He catches the the tail end of the blast, and it it enough to launch him off his feet and put him into the back seat of a Volvo quite forcefully.

The explosive heat deafens the few who survive, all but two of the lowlier vamps are dusted outright. The final two seem to be deafened, their equilibrium shot all to hell as they try to rise to their feet and stagger around. The Judge himself sits up just in time to bellow in agony as a moving van parks on his chest, using his crotch as a ramp.

Crossbow bolts find the last two easily as they stagger around, though it takes a few to get kill shots at the distance they are working with.

As Buffy hops out of the moving van Ravage begins tearing at the demons face, shaking it around like he is playing tug of war with it. Buffy uses the distraction while the demon is cursing to attach chains to his neck.

Spike, realizing what is going on from inside the car where he was thrown during this now ten seconds of chaos, is already sprinting away.

It must be said that the giles-mobile, with a running start, was able to decapitate the Judge.

The second time.

It might need a new bumper.

(It needs a new bumper)

Authors Note:  
I feel like I should apologize a bit about this chapter. I know that pulling out the Blast Globes seems pretty silly, kind of an "I win" button. They are pretty cool. Artificers I play make them around this level pretty regularly. But really, all they are is a slightly cooler fireball that anybody in the party can cast once a day. She is specifically looking for things that she can make that can be useful that she doesn't have to be on the front lines to activate. I'll try not to pull the perfect item out of my ass too often but anybody that has played D&D will tell you, any Artificer or Mage (often Clerics as well) is gonna have at least one way any given day to look in a room and just say, "No. You know what? Fuck all y'all."

Also, I know the fight with the Judge was a little anticlimactic. What can I say? Joss had it right.

That said, yeah.

Old canon. Pretty much dead at this point. There are a few standout events that I will need to either AU, deal with differently, or include such as graduation, the initiative, glory. There are a few that I want to include, but will likely be unrecognizable. But by and large, expect weirdness from here forward.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19.

The most important meal of the day.

"I still can't believe it never even made it into the paper." Alex grouses, a little annoyed from the breakfast table as she reads the paper on Saturday morning a month after they had torn apart the "Judge" and Giles sent most of it to the Watcher's council. From where she is frying up a couple of eggs, Jenny offers her response.

"Well, you know cover ups happen here all the time. It is an impressive weapon, and I would love to see the laughable attempt at forensics evidence that decided that explosion was from somebody accidentally trying to leave the lot with an unsecured propane tank and then gunning it, but really. Shouldn't we just be grateful they didn't have cameras on the parking lot? I didn't even think of that until Willow mentioned it and then I almost peed myself a little." She turns to face Alex directly. "What did you do with the arm from the Judge that you kept? Giles caught some flak from the council for losing it, but every time I ask him he just smirks and says it was worth it."

Alex shrugs. "Spent a couple of days to spin off a scroll of 'Disintegrate.' Right at the edge of what I can do, but it handles the problem of anybody ever getting all the pieces back together again while still giving Giles the credit for being the watcher in charge when it got put down. It's a spell that pretty much does what it says, and it does it to most anything. The arm O' the Judge was not immune. Whatever next life he's in, betting he isn't amused, either."

Jenny laughs, shaking her head at her young friend that seems to so often make the impossible happen. "Giles and I are still planning to go down to LA for some stuffy museum thing he is interested in, did you need us to make that delivery Sunday when we go?"

Alex offers a quick nod, then wipes the dribbling milk off of her face with a forearm as she manages to fail at eating her cereal in her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, designing that thing was a mess, but I think I have it done finally. If what Sam tells me in his Email is anything close to accurate, I don't think the new gun will be anything near as powerful as what they have. But it isn't reliant on custom ammo that nobody knows how to make. So hopefully they can get some use out of it."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Jenny can't help but ask. "So, what did you end up with?"

Alex grins a little, scoops the last of her cereal, and pushes the bowl away from herself as Jenny sits at the table with her plate.

"Well, I had to be a little careful to be honest. I'm not a gunsmith and I didn't want to mess anything up too bad. Between that and the fact that they already had a style they were comfortable with I had to run down a good quality and well cared for working antique at a swap meet. It's a long barreled Colt Peacemaker single action. I wasn't willing to fiddle too much with the cylinder or the firing mechanism beyond basic strengthening and corrosion proofing, the Winchesters can probably maintain all that better than I can. I enchanted the barrel though for damage, accuracy, and demon bane. I also put another silencing widget in the grip like the one Drop Waddle uses and a switch on the opposite side from the safety. With the budget he gave me it isn't able to run constantly, but a couple times a day if they use subsonic rounds they ought to be able to use that thing most anywhere and get away with it unless somebody sees them doing it for a minute at a time. I figure that should let them get away with a lot, gunfights that last longer than a minute I would think are pretty rare outside of active war zones. I added some silver crosses inlaid on the hand grips so the bad guys maybe can't mess with it and just for funzies I stuck a weapon crystal on it of "True Death."

Jenny is smiling at this point, but cocks her head to the side anyway. "What does that do?"

Alex leans back. "Well, it does some extra damage to undead, but the real reason is that I put together the second version. It gives it an ability the game calls "ghost touch" and from what I hear those guys have to deal with a lot of freaking spirits. Being able to damage them enough to send them on without having to find the remains might be a nice change for them, you know. If it works. No guarantees, obviously. But I thought it might be worth a shot. Pun intended."

Jenny's face pales some, even as she smiles. "You can make weapons that will hurt incorporeal things? Like ghosts and such?"

Alex shrugs and gets up to carry her bowl to the sink. "Probably. It isn't like I was able to test that part here, for whatever reason we don't get a lot of that kind of action on the hellmouth. Or at least, nothing like the amount of demons and vamps, anyway. I had Buffy take it out to test a couple of nights last week and apparently it works pretty damn good on vampires and demons though. Bullets you run through it on a vamp or demon behave like some kind of cone shape charge that goes off at the point of impact. Lots of tissue damage. Debilitating even on a bad hit, but they'll dust vamps on a head, neck, or heart shot. She's only tried it on a few demons but was impressed, and honestly it should work pretty well on anything the spellwork deems to be a demon. The "bane" enhancement is pretty devastating."

Jenny offers a wicked grin. "Are you going to build one for Buffy?"

A ghost of irritation passes across Alex's face before she responds. "Nope."

Jenny frowns a bit. "Why ever not?"

Alex motions for the two of them to head into the living room where they can sit and be more comfortable. "She has lots of reasons, but really I think the main one is that she is so afraid of what could potentially happen if she missed that she would rather just not have the temptation to use one at all. Apparently on her second night of testing she did miss a shot and the bullet went through the drivers side window of a parked car. Nobody was hurt, obviously, but all she talked about was what if scenarios for an hour after she handed it back to me and said she would stick to a crossbow and melee for safety reasons. I'll probably try to put something together for Giles and you, if you are interested. Willow and maybe myself. But she is just really scared of it." After a moments thought and a sip of her coffee, Alex continues. "Honestly, I think it might have something to do with the slayer reflexes. I don't think she is always one hundred percent in control when she is doing her thing. I think whatever makes her the slayer sometimes nudges her a bit, and in a deep kinda way I think she knows that. So she tries to avoid guns because an action made by her that wasn't entirely her could accidentally kill a kid in a cradle four blocks away. How would you like that on your conscience?"

Jenny nods, considering. "That makes a disturbing amount of sense. Have you talked to her about your theory?"

With a shake of her head, Alex pulls out of her robe pocket her notebook for projects she is trying to get done before the end of the month and checks off a few that got finished off yesterday. "Of course not. I love her to death, really I do, but the extra thirty years of life in my noggin has given me a bit more perspective on the Buffster than I had before Halloween. She's a control freak of the highest order. So much of her life being out of her control has made her clamp down on whatever she can with the tenacity of a sphincter trying to hold back a bad taco binge. What do you think would be her response if I shoved some theory in her face that when she is most at risk and her life is most out of control, she isn't even in control of her own mind? And more than that, she knows it and is repressing?"

Jenny sighs into her coffee then takes a sip. "I see what you mean."

With a shrug, Alex continues. "I know how to put together repeating crossbows. Five shots. Not quite as powerful or accurate as these beasts Giles likes maybe, and nowhere near as powerful or precise as I am capable of, but getting another bolt ready is essentially the same thing as ratcheting a shotgun and at the ranges she is usually working at, it isn't like she needs to be to worried about sharpshooting. I'll probably put something like that together for her now that I have her sword done and this toy for the Winchesters out of the way. But first I need to finish up her gloves."

Jenny looks interested. "So what does the sword do that's special? Other than being ridiculously overbuilt. And what gloves?"

Alex grins at her. "Slayer built, not overbuilt. Beefed it up so she wouldn't break the damned thing. Oh, just the basics. Hit harder, resistance to corrosion and stuff. After chatting with Giles a bit we decided to go a bit of a different route for her extra damage option though. Rather than "Bane" which is my usual go-to for this kinda thing we went with "Sacred." It has a couple a neat bennies that should be useful for her. Hurts demons and undead, and undead can't pick it up without taking damage. Not as effective against either one separately as a bane weapon would be, but what she deals with is such a crap shoot that I figured covering as many bases as possible would be best. I can upgrade it or build her something else later, but for right now that plus another "True Death" weapon crystal should work for her. I have a feeling that when it is all said and done I am gonna end up with two sets of everything for everybody so when I pull something out of service to work on it the person doesn't have to go without. As for the gloves, those are a result of a conversation with Willow the other day. Walking around a graveyard with a pointy stick isn't likely to get you into trouble with the cops. But doing it with a sword in a town where some of the leading causes of death are blood loss due to slash wounds is kind of a bad idea. So I am putting together a pair of "Gloves of Storing." Usually they are more of a thieves tool, but what they do is shrink down and hold an item in stasis so you have it handy without it being visible. With a pair, I figure she can keep the sword in one and either a crossbow or a crowbar in the other. Whatever she thinks she might need that night. Oh, and while we are on the topic of new stuff, I finally got around to putting together earpieces for you and Giles. I also had an idea. Might be a bit squirrely to work the ins and outs of it, but could be pretty useful if I can get it to function. Since I can see the potential for your techno-whatery being useful here I thought I might run it past you."

Jenny's eye's widen. They hadn't really worked together on anything in quite awhile, but it had been fun the last couple of times. "Sure, what are you thinking about?"

Alex drains the cup of the last few drops and leans back into the couch. "Well, basically I was considering trying to set up a remote viewing tool based on scrying using Skite as the focus and then tweak it so we can pan the view around him instead of looking at him. We probably wouldn't be able to record entire patrols or anything, the spell is mid level and the duration is based in minutes. So we'd get ten minutes a night probably and all in one shot. But how nice would it be when Buffy calls out that she is seeing something new if we could kick on a recorder and Giles could either tell her about it or start researching right then? Start building up a collection of recordings we could use for reference and stuff? Maybe make some copies and send them to Kendra so if she runs into it later she doesn't get stuck doing it the hard way?"

Jenny flashes a huge smile. "That sounds exceptional. Have you mentioned this to English? And speaking of sending stuff to Kendra, Giles tells me that after you presented Buffy with her sword you sent one off to her through him."

With a bit of a smirk, Alex nods. "Yeah. Real basic enchant on that one. Only three days to put together. But when I was figuring out what to put together for Buffy I built two different styles and once I was done with hers I went ahead and finished up the second one. I made an educated guess at some leather armor as well. Not magical or anything, and not as nice as Buffy's since I don't have precise measurements so it had to be a bit adjustable. But I hope it helps. I kinda wish Sam wasn't living under a death threat here, I'd like to invite them back to the hellmouth for a month sometime and get her kitted out a bit."

With a curious look, Jenny downs the last of her own coffee and places her mug on the end table. "I thought Giles said something about the Watchers council not being a big fan of outfitting slayers like this? What is the council going to do when they get a hold of this sword you sent Kendra?"

With an eye roll that is almost epic the teenager responds. "Hopefully realize that they are retarded and lame? Because that would be awesome? As for the Scrye thing? No, I haven't mentioned it to Giles yet. I wanted to get a working prototype built first. When it comes to magic doodads I am finding that he is definitely a forgiveness is better than permission sort. In any case, enough about me. Any luck with Ted yet?"

Jenny can't help but offer a bit of a grin of her own. She had been beating her head against this particular issue for more than a month. "Yes, I am finally making breakthroughs. The maniac that built the system behind Ted more or less put together a hardwired server farm. Reprogramming hasn't been possible in the code, only tweaking. A lot of what I have been doing has been dealing with sorting through a dozen filing cabinets of notes on jumper settings and pulling out the soldering iron a few times to bridge a few gaps. All in all it's brilliant, but a mess. It's really too bad that the original Ted was so limited in bandwidth though. If we could use Ted's eyes to send these images instead of your scrye spell we wouldn't have to worry about duration. It'd be cheaper too."

Alex's eye's widen. "I didn't even think of that. Should have though. Why won't it work?"

Jenny leans back herself at this point and places her right leg over her left. "Because of the way the code functions. Ever seen a picture made on a computer screen using text and punctuation?" At Alex's nod, she continues. "That is basically what gets sent back to the mainframe. It gets updated forty times a second, and the bot has the ability to zoom in and out so reading and whatnot is easily possible and it can get a good idea of size and distance. But colors are represented by letters, reflection patterns and metallic type properties by symbols. The whole thing looks like a combination of a piece of square grid drafting paper and a paint by number for prodigies. Trying to look at a sheet of it and figure out anything would be essentially impossible for anybody but this computer. It was amazing for it's time, but it is still very much a product of it's time."

Alex shakes her head. "But they had TV then. Why wouldn't he just send a damn video?"

Jenny shrugs at her. "Because he couldn't get away with that. If he tried to get away with using that kind of bandwidth the F.C.C. Would have come down on him like a ton of bricks within a month, even assuming that he could cram a transmitter capable of doing that into the body of the bot. There is not a lot of spare room in there. So what he is using is four C.B. Channels. I'd be willing to bet that there have been truckers coming through here for thirty years annoyed as all get out that all of a sudden all they were getting was static on the channel they were using at the time."

Laying her head against the back of the couch, Alex considers for a minute. "How are things going with the property Ted owned and stuff? Did the sale go through?"

Jenny laughs. "Yes. Apparently if you have all the right signatures in all the right spots and pay all the right taxes to all the right people, and nobody complains, a property purchase in Sunnydale is incredibly easy. I was able to get Ted 2 up and running for that yesterday. I like your idea of making it a safe house, but honestly I'm not sure if we want to live there. With your business booming like it is I am thinking we are probably going to need to look into getting a bigger house with an actual shop at some point. Maybe this summer, after the trip."

Looking back at Jenny, Alex offers a lopsided smirk that is almost reminiscent of Xander, but it doesn't last long enough to be more than a bit disconcerting. "Missing your dear uncle that much are we?"

Jenny's eye roll looks downright painful. "No, not so much. But he wasn't wrong either. At least I will need to go there and speak with them, and really we both should since I did take you in. I am sorry to put you on the spot like this, I was expecting you to be twenty three or so before I was called back. At that point, who cares what they found out. But if they really try to push the whole "child of the clan" thing just know that in the end, they won't take you from me without my leave, which they won't get. That and they can't keep me there unless I agree to it. Which I won't. They can banish me, they can be right bastards in a thousand little ways, but in the end they won't strip freedom from a member of the clan by magic or by force. The rule has always been that if trust has fallen so far as that a more permanent solution is sought after."

Alex's eyes widen in concern. "They'd kill you?!"

"No, no of course not." Jenny hastily assures her. "The worst I could see them doing to me, if anything, would be a banishment. Actually, we very rarely kill unless defending ourselves and then only in the heat of the moment." She smiles grimly. "But that doesn't mean we haven't put people in a position where they wish they were dead."

Alex offers a raised eyebrow. "I thought you weren't into the whole vengeance thing?"

"I am not into vengeance to the exclusion of the all else including the safety of the clan. Keeping a vampire alive to torture him with a soul? Stupid. Punishing a thief with a month of vomiting and explosive diarrhea with muscle aches and a low grade temperature every time they steal until they have been a good little criminal for a decade? I can get behind that. Call it a parole that has the potential to actually work."

Alex laughs. "You can do that?"

Jenny shakes her head and offers a wicked smirk. "Not me personally, not my specialty. Curses like that are usually done by elders, and require a few of them. Not so much for the effect, but for the duration. Making a curse powerful enough to last indefinitely isn't easy. But really, this is all neither here nor there. Are you willing to go?"

Alex nods. "Yeah, I can go with you. I'll need to put some thought into how to do modern travel with homunculus though. As a rule, they really don't like getting more than a mile from their master, if I tried to go to the other side of the planet I am not sure what they would do. Maybe I'll need to look into a portable hole or something for the trip. It's right on the edge of what I can make, but I am pretty sure I can put one together."

"And what is a portable hole? It sounds very Bugs Bunny."

Alex grins. "It is very Bugs Bunny. Round piece of cloth, six feet across. Unroll it on a flat surface and it becomes a hole ten feet deep you can use for storage. Roll it up, carry it around and it is just a piece of cloth again. Something like that fold it a few times, I can just bring it on the plane with my carry on bag. I was actually thinking about putting together one of those and building a little cut down work shop in it so if I ever did need stuff built on the fly while we were traveling I could get it done. Homunculus don't breathe anyway, so working under those conditions isn't too big a deal for them as long as I check on them now and again so they know they aren't abandoned. Might need to build two. Use one as a little warehouse for materials. With the amount of gold, silver, platinum, and gems I go through I should probably build one just for security anyway, if we're being honest. At some point, somebody is gonna try to break in. Somebody mundane, with a mask and a gun and that isn't gonna get stopped by a lack of an invite."

The two lapse into a companionable silence for awhile as they consider this and other things they had been discussing.

Authors note.

Not a terribly exciting chapter, but I needed to wrap up a few loose ends and doing it over breakfast seemed appropriate.

As to the random talk of magical gizmos, I would imagine that there are any number of readers that are getting tired of it. I can promise that this will be the last chapter to delve quite so deep into that for quite a while. I covered a lot of ground here for just that reason.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Delivery Girl

With time slipping by and everybody keeping unbelievably busy it seems like only a short time has passed before they are finally having the post school year party at the Summer's place. Between the homunculus and the new scrying system being online, not to mention the new and improved Ted bot offering assistance on patrols, with Jenny responding via her keyboard to the voice chat of both Buffy and Alex, things have become almost routine for a while. But now that Jenny and Alex have a trip to Europe to go on, things are about to change. As they sit around the living room enjoying slices of ice cream cake and glasses of soda, Joyce is actually the first to bring up her problems with this.

"So, as I understand it, Alex controls the flying crossbow and the metal dog, and Jenny is the one that reprogrammed the Ted. Does this mean that with the two of you gone all of her help is gone too? I mean, not to be obnoxious because it is obviously your lives. But I am really not a fan of that."

Giles offers her a compassionate look, and responds in a soothing tone. "I understand your concern, Joyce. Truly I do. However, things are not quite as dire as you believe. First, summers are always less dangerous. Longer days, shorter nights. Many members of the demonic community go into a kind of hibernation of sorts, and as such activity levels always drop. Second, Willow has been working with Jenny on the Ted project and I am assured is more than capable of giving the commands to keep things running smoothly." He turns to Alex. "But really, I would have needed to ask you to make this trip anyway, Alex. No right to demand it, obviously. But I must ask. Doing a routine check of the unusual at the hellmouth hot spots I found that some poor sod had managed to dig up Acathla of all things and then had the colossal bad form to donate the blighted thing to a museum located less than a half of a kilometer from the hellmouth. Using my contacts through the watcher's council and my own credentials as a historian and employee of the British museums, even if I am on extended leave, has given me access. But we need to get it off the hellmouth and into safe hands. My hope is that we can somehow get it into one of these portable holes you have been creating for your trip and you can drop it off with a contact of mine in England to go to the Watchers council. I'd be willing to front the money for the few days of hotel and whatnot for the stay in London as well as compensate for any added expense to your air fare, if it matters. I would try to just deal with this internally, but frankly, the danger is too great to wait on bureaucracy of any kind and trying to smuggle a multi ton stone statue out of the country is going to require planning and red tape that I don't have time for."

Alex just shrugs, glancing at Jenny. "I suppose. Assuming I can get your verification that this contact can be trusted not to screw with us. I take it there is something special about this thing that makes you want my help particularly? Not to be annoying, but I was kinda planning on using the second one to take some raw materials with me in case I needed to do any artificing on the fly."

Giles' voice obtains all the qualities of a sub arctic desert at night. Cold, arid, disconcerting, and mocking your inability to escape it. "It is an eight foot tall demon capable of plunging all of earth into hell by taking its first breath, and only needs some imbecile to remove a sword from its chest un-petrifying it so that it may do so."

Jenny looks at the ceiling. "Damn, English. You couldn't have waited to to tell us this until tomorrow? We couldn't have one freaking day of summer celebration?"

Looking somewhat contrite, he does nod by way of apology. "Yes, well, I felt it might be important enough to bring to your attention. Preventing hell on earth and all."

Considering for a few seconds, Alex then turns to Giles. "Being given access isn't the same as being told to wander off with it, can I assume that the intention is to steal the thing?"

Giles blanches a bit. "I prefer to think of it as securing it for the public good, but essentially you are correct."

Alex gives him a somewhat wry look. "Is the court I am tried in going to consider it a public good? Because it seems like their definition might be the important one here. Just saying."

Giles looks at the floor. "Yes, of course. I had assumed too much I suppose..."

Alex breaks in at this point. "Nope, you didn't. We're good. We can probably handle this tomorrow night if you'll take me down there so I can get a feel for it."

Giles nods sheepishly. "Thank you. Though there may be a better opportunity. I have been successful in my petition to have it transferred to the university for a week to conduct testing of various sorts before it is put on display. It should be much easier to acquire it there, as I will have access to the security codes as well as camera feeds. Though I will probably need you to rough me up a bit during the heist for the sake of appearances, and I would be grateful if Jenny and Willow were to do a thorough scrubbing of the security afterward. Electronic surveillance being fairly far afield from my personal specialties."

With nods around the table, Alex turns again to face Giles directly. "Hey, if I made a list and gave you some money, do you know anyone in England that you would trust you put together a bunch of goods for me? If all the stuff I need was ready when we got there, Jenny and I could just pick it up, put the homunculus to work setting up the warehouse and getting everything sorted, and then after a week say of touring London, just continue our trip."

Giles considers. "Probably. Depends on what it is, there are some things that are a bit easier to obtain in the States and there are others that are easier there."

Alex nods. "Mostly a collection of hard and soft woods in reasonable size pieces, some iron, steel, copper, and brass ingots. Some good tanned leather as well as full hides. A few bolts of quality cotton cloth as well as silk. Most of the more expensive bits and bobs such as the gems and precious metals, oils, spell components and such I can store in the other hole I am kitting out as a shop and travel home for homunculus for now. My guess would be that it would come to about thirty thousand or less, and it would only be that much because some of the hardwoods that I end up needing around are really heavily regulated here. Over harvesting in the early 20th I guess, it's like the only thing I have found that is actually more expensive here than Eberron. Well, that and ivory. But so far I haven't needed any ivory and if I do I plan to get it off a demon."

Giles nods. "That should be possible. As nothing you want is actually illegal, for a few hundred extra to compensate their time I know of many that would be more than happy to put together such a list. Especially given two weeks to put it together.

Upon seeing the thing in the science labs, Alex can legitimately only think of one thing to say. "Kind of an ugly git isn't he? Even accounting for the whole stone angle."

The rather chipper voice in her earpiece causes Alex, Buffy, and Giles to stop what they are doing. "Red here. Security is watching a replay of the last ten minutes before you arrived on a loop, but if they ever pull their act together they can figure this out with a simple walk through the labs. I wouldn't waste a lot of time."

Alex nods. "Thanks Red." Turning to Giles, she asks the older man the important question. "How are we going to move the thing? It looks heavy as hell."

Giles nods, his right hand on his chin. "Ah, yes. There are wheels underneath it, to make it easier to get around. My plan was to wheel it into the pit and merely let it fall in. We can make sure there are cranes on the delivery side for hauling it out, and frankly if the demon ever should awaken I am afraid I can't be bothered to care whether or not he has a headache."

Alex sighs. "That is gonna tear the hell out of the frame I put in there, but okay, lets just get it done. I'll lay out the hole and let you know when we are ready if you'll do the honors, Buffy?"

The blond rolls her eye a bit at being regulated to the grunt work, but doesn't complain. "Sure."

Four minutes and one loud thump later, Alex is rolling up a hole on a possible apocalypse.

Giles grimaces a bit. "I suppose it's time. Please do be careful, Buffy. I'd rather not spend time in the hospital, after all."

Buffy smiles and with a snap of her left hand, a massive crowbar appears. She holds it out to Alex who tries to fight back a grin while she starts mumbling words that wash over the both of them like mist that mocks their attempts to retain it.

Giles looks more than a bit concerned. "Buffy, what is she doing?"

Buffy smiles. "Apparently where her Halloween costume is from, cops and bounty hunters sometimes use a special enhancements that makes a weapon do extra damage, but all the damage is superficial. Worst it can do is knock you out. She is applying a temporary version of that now. It'll last a few hours. So once she is done..." She looks at him directly and her smile takes on a decidedly wicked and predatory tone. "I am planning to take two years worth of slayer frustration out on your watcher ass. The best part being that you asked me to!"

Giles pales to nearly the color of his shirt.

"Oh dear."

Willow was laying in Alex's bed for one last night before they Jenny and Alex left on their trip. She had spent the last few weeks trying to be as upbeat as possible while hiding her misery that this once short two week trip was now looking like it was going to be stretched out to nearly a month. Everybody had noticed her misery. Nobody was willing to say anything, though Alex had been significantly more free with the hugs recently.

"Do you really have to be gone for a month? I am going to miss you so much, and we might need you, we probably will need you and just because it's summertime doesn't mean we won't."

Alex reaches around her from behind and pulls her tight. The standing rule in the house is that Jenny doesn't care as long as pajamas stay on, so they abuse that a bit now and again. "It'll be okay. We may not even be that long. We just want to make sure to give ourselves that much time in case her family get persnickety is all. You heard that Enyos guy. A whole clan of them trying to get their hooks into us is likely to be a bit of a trial by fire."

There is silence for a few minutes, as the two enjoy the closeness and cuddles. Then Willow speaks up. "I saw the new necklace on your dresser, that the new toy you have been working on for the last two or three weeks? Kind of an odd look to it. A cross with the lips from the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in relief on the front. Betting even my Rabbi would slap you for that one."

Alex giggles. "Yeah, I couldn't come up with anything better to exemplify communication, with a 'fuck you' to vamps built in, even if the example is ridiculous. It's an amulet that lets me understand and speak languages. When we are dealing with these relatives of Jenny's I wanna know what is being said. Be just my luck to agree to marriage or something on accident. Besides, I figured if I am going to be in Europe, it might be nice to be able to speak the languages while I am there. I just wish I had time to put together a tool for reading stuff as well. But, this will have to do. Have you talked to Giles lately? Hows he doing? Jenny is still a little annoyed at us."

Willow snorts. "She has every right to be. I still don't know how you managed to cover his body in eighty percent bruises and welts and do so much damage to his head he was unconscious for two days in the hospital without ever breaking the skin or even causing a hairline fracture. He still looks like he went ten rounds with a pissed off dump truck, but he'll be less black and blue in another week."

Alex sighs. "If he wasn't being tailed by some jackass detective the insurance company hired, he'd be fine now. I had a potion ready for him. Skite spotted the the guy, so I had to back off. Sucks though. I know Buffy is taking it pretty hard, we were expecting to give him the potion the next day and laugh it off that night."

With a sigh, Willow continues. "Giles will be fine. He understands that it was needed and that you just made it look really good with no risk. But it's still hard for Jenny to take."

"Yeah. I know."

Arriving in London:

"Holy crap, Are we finally there? The land of tea and crumpets?" Alex asks as she exits the plane. With all of their baggage fitting in the mobile shop that sits rolled up in her carry on bag, the two don't feel any particular need to waste a lot of time in the airport.

With a light laugh, Jenny smiles back at her young friend. The beating that Giles had taken did disturb her greatly, but the night she spent with the man before she and Alex boarded the plane the two had discussed things and she understood better than she had before just how needed his beating had been in order for him to maintain his credentials in good standing. "Yes, indeed we are. We are supposed to call the number Giles gave us to make the delivery as soon as we get to our hotel room, so I suppose we should get moving. Taxi? Or should we see if I can still remember how to drive here. I am voting for taxi."

Alex nods. "Taxi it is then. Rather not have survived the hellmouth for more than a year just to come here and die in a fender bender with a double decker bus. Be kind of embarrassing."

The hotel proves to be a nice enough place. Not a five star establishment, but it has a pool and a kitchenette in the room. Though they will be sharing a queen sized bed.

"Do you want to call the number, or you want me to do it?" Alex asks after flopping down onto the bed.

Jenny motions to the phone. "Giles said it would be best if you did it. He said Sam was in London and it was likely that they would have him handle something like this. I am guessing that means Kendra will be around as well. Probably best not to mention to Buffy we will be hanging around with same I guess."

Alex looks a bit annoyed. "Probably best not to hang out with Sam at all. How can I maintain a fiction of being a middling powerful but not really worth screwing with artificer if I am suckered into positions where I have to show off big 'Ol extra-dimensional spaces. Giles and I are gonna have to have a talk about full disclosure when we get back. I am not thrilled at the moment. I assumed there was going to be a middle man of some sort."

Jenny nods. "Yeah, he said that might come up. He also said that if it did to remind you what was at stake and that he would take his lumps when you got back."

With an irritated look, Alex picks up the phone. "If I could be certain it'd work I'd be tempted to just disintegrate the damn thing. Or maybe a rock to mud spell. Make it look like a mouth-less corgi. What was the number again?"

Jenny places the number on the bedside table and stretches out on the other side of the bed while Alex makes the call. The phone is answered after only two rings.

"Zabuto here."

Alex cringes a little. There was always hope... But no. "Hello Sam. This is Alexandra, from Sunnydale? I was making a trip to Europe this summer and Rupert asked me if I would make a delivery for him. Are you ready to take possession? You will need access to a crane of some sort capable of dead lifting a few tons and able to do so away from prying eyes."

The line is silent for a few moments. "Alexandra. Yes, Rupert did say that there would be a delivery of some significance. He was reluctant to tell the council about it in detail for security reasons but requested we take it seriously, so Kendra and I found ourselves called back here. The easiest would likely be to simply take it directly to the castle that the Watchers Council operates from and take possession there."

Alex shakes her head. Even knowing he can't see her she can't help herself, that idea is so bad. "I am afraid that won't be possible. Meaning no disrespect to you personally or to the stated goals of your organization, but only a fool would set foot in there after they way you were sniffing around me before. Do you have any ideas that are not completely ridiculous?"

Sam thinks for a few seconds. "I assume the item is large enough to require a truck?"

"Yeah. Eight feet tall, or long if it is laid down. Probably about two tons of stone."

Considering again, Sam stops. His knuckles tighten over the phone he holds. "Alexandra, does the thing you are transporting have a sword sticking out of it's chest?"

Alex smirks into the phone. "Oddly enough, yes it does. Honestly, I'd like to get rid of it, the thing doesn't go with my curtains at all. Is there anywhere we can meet tonight to make the transfer? I'll be in town for a few days, but really, the sooner the better in my opinion."

Sam freezes. A thousand horrifying scenarios playing though his mind that all end with him somehow being responsible for the end of the world. No. he will need to bring in more people for this one. "We can make the transfer tonight, but I will need to get things ready. Where are you staying, I will call you when I have things arranged."

Alex gives Sam the name of the hotel and their room number. "Sam, do me a favor. I know that something like this you are going to want an escort back to wherever you are going. But keep it reasonable at the transfer site, okay? If I walk in the door to the makings of a tweed football riot I am gonna just leave."

"Very well. I will call back as soon as can. Be careful with your package, Alexandra."

Alex rolls her eyes and hangs up. "Douche is gonna call back after a while. Wanna order some room service? Feels like all I've had for two days is airline peanuts."

Two hours later, the phone rings. "Alexandra here, how can I alleviate the woes of your world today?"

"This is Sam. I have a meeting spot. It is a warehouse in the docks area of London. Kendra will meet you at your hotel, get you to the site where we will make the transfer. Then as a courtesy she will make sure you get back to your hotel room as it will be well after dark by then. Is that acceptable to you?"

After a bit of thought, Alex answers. "Yeah, that should be fine. When should we expect her?"

After his answer of ten minutes, the two quickly handle a quick clean up after their nap, and collect their belongings. Alex also has to take a few minutes to put her illusion disguise back on. Fortunately, it is pretty basic. The knock on their door is three sharp taps soon after Jenny has exited the shower.

Opening the door to the smiling dark haired beauty reveals that she is wearing both the armor and the sword that were sent, and seems quite proud of them. She puts a hand out to Alex to shake as she speaks. "I am so happy you came to make the delivery! I wanted to thank you personally for these most effective tools of the trade." At Alex's blush and slight frown, she continues. "Watcher Giles never said exactly where they came from, but it was not difficult to determine. Worry yourself not. My Watcher is very strict in his duties, but he loves me very much. If there is a reason he might bend a rule, it would be for me." With that, she pulls the blade and rests it on her palms. "At first he thought it was some kind of joke, it was so stout, so heavy. But when I could use it with no problems, he told me to take it on patrol if I liked. This sword is amazing! Much better than the tin garbage that the council sends us. I thank you. It has likely already saved my life more than once. But, we should go. There is a watcher of the council in a car down on the street, and my watcher waits at the spot we will make the transfer. Will we be following you?"

Alex and Jenny look at each other. Alex looks back at Kendra. "Actually, could we just ride with you?"

Kendra looks confused. "I was told the item was quite big. Very heavy."

Raising her eyebrows and wiggling her fingers, Alex just says "Magic!"

And with that, they head down.

During the drive Alex can't help but wonder how Kendra gets away with wearing the sword openly into a hotel. The armor is designed to look like something you might wear racing motocross, so that is less confusing, but the sword? She guesses that confidence must really be all that and a box of chocolates. The warehouse is short, as warehouses go. Three stories, give or take. The car drives into the warehouse and immediately doesn't like it. It might be an abandoned warehouse now, but after you've lived and fought on a hellmouth for awhile you recognize the kind of wear and tear that a demon or vamp nest will put on a place. There is obvious recent damage from a fight, and there are a couple of men on the far side that look as though they are trying to pressure wash stains out of the concrete. Sam stands next to a rather large flatbed truck with a collection of tarps and tie downs, as well as it's own little jib crane for loading and unloading. When the four people in the car all step out, he looks at Alex quizzically.

"Are you having the item delivered here? That seems highly dangerous. I would not think leaving it in the hands of a third party would be a good idea."

Alex can't help the slight eye roll and Jenny smirks at the watcher. You're Giles' friend, right?"

Sam nods.

Jenny motions to Alex, who is opening her bag and pulling out the pouch that contains one of the holes. "If you don't feel like having faith in us, fine. Have faith in him picking somebody that can do the job."

Sam still looks confused, but nods as Alex pulls a rolled and folded piece of black cloth out of her back and lays it out next to the truck. "Okay. It's all yours. I went ahead and secured the holy living crap out of that sword, so it'll take somebody a good long time with a welder to get it loose at this point. But you may still want to be as gentle as possible. We didn't have access to a crane when we got it in there, so it probably got jostled some."

Sam walks up to the edge of the pit and looks down. Looks at Alex. Looks back in the hole. "How..."

"Look, Zabuto, it's just an extra dimensional space bound into a two dimensional one with a hole in the spellwork that causes the entrance to collapse temporarily if it isn't relatively flat. It really isn't that complex. Now get your new toy out of it and you people can stick it next to the blue puzzle we sent you last month. Sorry about the missing piece."

Sam stares at her as he slowly works the crane controls. "What do you know about that?"

Alex shrugs. "Not a lot. William the Bloody got the pieces together. Set it loose. Buffy stopped it by hitting it with a truck or something and then pulling it apart with chains and Giles' car or so I understand. There might have been an explosion involved. There was a rumor."

Sam motions Kendra to go down into the pit and put the straps on the statue, and within a few minutes they are strapping the thing to the back of the truck when a scream sounds from the far side of the warehouse.

As one they all turn, and they can see that a glowing red tear in the world has opened up, and a hand, a scaled, clawed, three fingered hand grips one of the poor schmucks that was pressure washing on the far side of the warehouse. The enormous appendage, for it is easily the size of a barn door were it stretched out, plucks one of the men up, shearing off an arm and a leg with razor sharp claws as it does so. The hand then brings the screaming body closer to the portal, and in a flash, the man is torn into bloody chunks by a flash of giant teeth. Then an eye appears at the portal. Looks around. The portal closes.

Sam is already starting the truck, and Kendra trying to usher Jenny and Alex back into the car while all this happens. She is finding it difficult though, partly because the shock in seeing something like this has Alex stumbling with her mouth hanging open. "W-what the fuck was that!?" She exclaims, as soon as Kendra has managed to get the car moving, it's original driver having already leaped into the truck with Sam to ride shotgun, the thing they are transporting to dangerous to be left to a lone operative.

As wheels squeal around a corner, leaving a haze of burned rubber, Kendra answers. "A Stygian Soul Shredder. Summoned to kill me by a mage assassin working for the Order of Taraka. My Watcher and I thought we lost him in Dublin. I guess we were wrong."

Alex blanches. "Soul shredder? Is that as bad as it sounds?"

Kendra nods, eyes never leaving the road. "They hunt like this. They make portals that they cannot go through, but can reach into and grope around for food. They treat the earth like a pantry from where they live. They destroy and consume your flesh, but, they get their name because hey also siphon the soul from the corpse before it can get to it's final rest and use it as food that... 'sticks to their ribs' I think is the term. Supposedly it can take many years before a soul is used up in this way."

Alex looks at her. "How do you kill the damn thing?"

Spinning the wheel, Kendra risks a glance at Alex. "Never been done. There are theories that if you could get through the portal it opens you could kill it in it's home, but has never been done. Usually we just kill the mage, then the attacks drop to something like the frequency of shark attacks. Fifty or sixty a year, world wide. Unfortunate, but not anything that humanity can't deal with."

Two turns later they are approaching the hotel. Kendra is finally starting to slow down, and that is probably what saves her passengers.

The portal that opens in front of the car is lengthwise, across the road. She desperately spins the wheel, and Alex notes absently that she does so instinctively in a way that would put her between Alex and that awful hand. Between Kendra's scream of defiance and Jenny's scream of fear, she doesn't even notice her own whimper of terror as the hand whips out and shatters the windshield as though it wasn't even there, showering the occupants of the car in chunks of safety glass. Alex finds her voice as Kendra's blood fountains from her mouth, the claws grabbing her and hauling her twitching body into the void. Alex looks down at the seat, and sees only a couple things left as the portal closes.

Kendra's sword, which she had to unclip from her belt while driving, and her left hand and lower arm, which were apparently sheared off by the claws when she was dragged from the car and killed.

Without even thinking about it, Alex grabs the hand and arm, tosses it into a bag with the sword, and gets out of the car with Jenny as they both start running towards the hotel.

Twenty minutes later, back in their room, and with an arm sitting in the kitchenette sink, Jenny finally asks. "Okay. First, do you want to call Sam or should I, and second, why did you take the arm?"

Alex blows out a sigh that causes her bangs to flutter about. "Because when she died she was a member of the party, and no member of my party is gonna have to have her soul devoured for a hundred years as punishment for saving my life. Gimme a minute while I get my components together. And if you feel like praying, you might say one for her. Without the whole corpse my options are kinda limited."

Alex sighs as she rolls out the second portable hole. "Fuck, I just hope she ends up something that can pass for human."

Jenny's eyes widen so far at that the whites can be seen all the way around.

Author's note:

I would imagine that there are some D&D players out there that have figured out where this is going. I already rolled that die, so suggestions will be ignored. :P (In all honestly I rolled it twice, I would have accepted most of the stuff on the list, but Trog? No. Just No.)

I know I burned through a big chunk of time here but a lot of the stuff I want to get to (a bit that is canon and a lot that is not) won't happen until the next school year now that I have completely obliterated the current timeline. The current plan is to deal with Clan Kalderash and then skip on into the next school year. There will probably be three or four chapters between now and then.

Hope you enjoyed!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Rebirth.

The two knelt by the bathtub, where the arm of a dead slayer was laying, glistening, and covered in an oily slick of brushed on spell components that Jenny doesn't want to think too hard about.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jenny asks Alex, somewhat hesitantly. She has seen her ward do some unbelievably cool things, but the description that this would just bring Kendra back as something from her world was a little much to take.

Alex shakes her head. "Nope. I hope so though. I owe her. You probably do to."

The phone in the hotel room rings again, for the third time in the hour that they have been using to get this set up. Alex groans, covering her eyes. Jenny quirks an eyebrow. "I'm still not sure why you are so dead set against answering the phone. Sam probably just wants to know what is going on."

Alex nods. "I know. That's why. Look, we are at a huge crossroads here for Kendra. This is either gonna work, or it's not. If it works, she is either gonna come back as a sapient species from this dimension, which would likely be human, hooray for her, or more likely, the only one of her kind as a race imported from a damn fantasy game. Combine that with the fact that she may or may not still be a slayer. We don't know if that is tied to her soul or her physical body. But given what just happened, even if we assume the best case scenario, she comes back a human slayer. Do you wanna be the one that already told the watchers council we were bringing her back and probably spilled the beans to the Tarakans? Cause I sure as hell don't. I want that to be her call. If she wants to break ties, I say we help how we can and set her up to get the duck out of fodge."

Jenny looks pensive. "What are the odds she will come back as something that can pass for human?"

Alex grimaces. "Assuming there is no medical examination, long hair is involved to hide it if her ears go Vulcan, and she is a good enough actor to make a convincing five year old if she ends up a skinny shorty? Fifty-fifty. I can help her odds a lot if she hits in that fifty fifty range, but there are a few things that... Well lets just say that while they are fun to roll when you are playing a pen and paper game would be less fun to be stuck living your life as. This takes about ten minutes, don't distract me okay? This isn't gonna be easy."

Jenny nods once and stands up, stepping back into the doorway for the bathroom. She can see that Alex is holding a small button in one hand, that she claims she has made into a "spell storing object" for the reincarnation she is casting. The other is held just over the severed arm. The chanting begins. As always seems to happen, the words break over her mind and leave no memory to grasp on to. It is truly infuriating for her. Minutes later, Jenny begins to wonder if this is going to work at all. It would seem like there would be some kind of build up to show progress for something this big. But she can see nothing. Finally, as she once again glances at her watch and sees that the ten minute mark is seconds away, there is a flash of purple and red light, a blinding flash that has both Jenny and Alex seeing spots for a few minutes. When it fades, they can see a form laying in the tub.

"She's so small." Jenny breathes in wonder, looking at the tiny form. With a slightly lighter skin tone and broader facial features, she bares very little in common with Kendra aside from obviously being female. But at just shy of three feet tall, to have a fully mature body seems just absurd.

Alex gently starts cleaning the oils out of the tub and off of the unconscious woman, who is so light at maybe twenty five pounds that she practically flops around in Alex's sure hands, forcing her to move slower and more carefully. Alex mutters, half to herself, though Jenny does listen in. "Halfling. Could be worse, could be a lot worse. Given some time I can probably kick out an item that'll do a continuous "Enlarge Person." She looks over to Jenny after she is done washing the tiny woman's long hair. "Towel please?"

Never taking her eyes off the two, Jenny reaches over to the towel rack and collects one, handing it over. Alex wraps Kendra in it and gently holds the slight form to her chest as she takes her back out into the main room and puts her to bed.

Once Alex is sitting down on the chair by the bed, Jenny finds herself sitting on the end of the bed and looking between the two other people. "Is she just young? Will she get any bigger?"

Alex shakes her head. "Not really. I mean, maybe an inch or something. Reincarnation generally brings people back to the equivalent of late teens, whatever that would be for the race. So there might be a smidgen of growing left. But this is probably pretty close to full size."

Jenny is still staring at the tiny woman, enthralled. "Is she supposed to be asleep like this? Sleeping through getting a bath seems odd. Is she going to be alright?"

Alex offers a nod. "She should be. The way the spell works is that if the soul is spell trapped, too badly damaged, or unwilling, it just won't work. My guess is that she is recovering from an hour of whatever that thing was doing to her essence and the strain of being hauled back into the land of the living. If she isn't up and about by tomorrow afternoon, I will look into it further. But right now I am betting she needs rest more than anything. Jenny, if she should decide not to go back to the watchers, if that should happen... Can we take her in? I wouldn't feel right about dropping her at this point, not... Not unless she wants us to."

Jenny's awed smile softens into one of concern and love for her friend. "Of course. If she wants to stay with us, we'll find a way to make it happen."

The two decide to sleep in shifts, as somebody should be awake to help Kendra with her new situation should she awaken in the night, and early in the morning as Jenny is leafing through the game books that Alex has said are connected to the abilities she possesses in an effort to finally get some inkling of what she is capable of, she hears a stirring behind her and turns to see Kendra sitting up, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

There is a moment when Jenny isn't sure what to say, and Kendra looks around the room and at the softly snoring form of Alex. "Why are you all so big? And didn't I die? I thought I died? Why is my voice all wrong?" She looks terribly confused. "I died, and then there was horrible pain for a time, and a call from a pure guide that wanted to help me, so I answered. And now this." Jenny is looking at her, still trying to wrap her mind around how to explain to the young woman what to say. Kendra only stops talking for a moment though before she continues. "I am almost positive I died somewhere in all of this though. Is this heaven?"

Jenny can't help it and lets out a slight chuckle at that. "No, I am sorry to say that it isn't. You got taken by that Soul Shredder thing, do you remember that part?"

Kendra offers a hesitant nod. "It sounds familiar. Like I read it in a book about me. Everything is so strange!"

Jenny nods. "Before you were taken, you told Alexandra what was hunting you, and when she realized what was in store for you she..."

Alex, who had been woken up by their conversation at some point, breaks in at this stage. "Said to hell with that. Brought you back. Sorry I couldn't keep the original form, but with what was left for me to work with this was the best I could do."

Kendra lays back. "And I am now small, like a child? Am I still the Slayer?"

Alex sits up herself. "Yeah. You are small now. I guess the easy if somewhat blunt way to say it is that you are going to be a tiny person like this forever. I may be able to help with that some with magic, but it won't be a permanent deal. Just a temporary one. As for the Slayer aspect, I honestly have no idea. I would imagine that it depends on whether whatever makes you the slayer is attached to your body or your spirit. I know Buffy kept her upgrade when you got called, but whether that just means "once a slayer, always a slayer" or something else I really couldn't say. But it's easy enough to find out. Once it gets light out we can send out Jenny to pick you up some clothes that will fit and go find something for you to try to break I suppose."

Kendra looks at the two of them. "Why is my watcher not here? Where is Zabuto?"

Alex slowly shakes her head. "If you truly want to call the man, I won't stop you. But given that the last time you worked with him got you killed I didn't want to make the choice for you. You look nothing like you did, and the Order of Taraka is probably still in town. If you would rather stay with us, you would be welcome. You saved our lives. Gave yours for ours. I'd offer the help even if you hadn't, but given that you did it isn't even a question. If you need or want help, it's yours."

Kendra looks down at her form and clenches her tiny fists around the edges of the thin hotel comforter. "I will have to think about this. But for now, is there food? I am very hungry."

Alex grins. "I can imagine. You've never eaten."

Jenny offers a smile and reaches over towards the bedside table for the phone. After getting an order placed, Jenny and Alex start rambling about the hotel room planning their day. The need to pick up the replacement materials for the mobile shop is now the priority, so that as soon as Kendra has made a decision they can get the hell out of watcher central. The whole place is making Alex's skin crawl.

When they are done eating breakfast, and Jenny has returned from an impromptu shopping trip for children's wear, the three sit down and Kendra speaks.

"Can I stay with you for now? I may return to my watcher at some point, if he needs me, but... I do not want to die again. It was not fun, and I feel I have done my duty."

Alex smiles. "Of course. But before you decide for sure, you need to know something. I do not want to deal with the council. I don't mind helping out a bit now and again, but I have no plans to join, be controlled by, or take orders from them. Because they are such busybodies that can't leave me the hell alone, I have kept a few things from them. Nothing bad!" She declares, seeing the look on Kendra's face. "But definitely things I would rather that they didn't know. Give me your word that what happens when you are with us stays with us, and I won't have to keep secrets from you. Honestly I'd rather not. I owe you a lot."

Kendra looks at her oddly. As though surprised that she is being offered this level of trust. But she nods. "I swear on my honor to keep your secrets unless they are hurting people or endangering the world."

Jenny smiles warmly, and Alex offers a lopsided smirk. "That's fair I suppose. I need to call Sam and Giles, let them know that Jenny and I are alright. Then we need to make a couple of stops in the city."

Sam picks up on the first ring. His voice sounds hoarse, and cracks as he speaks. "Zabuto."

"This is Alexandra. Just letting you know that your slayer died last night. Something reached through a rip in dimensions and plucked her from the world. Nearly killed me in the process. Is their a reason you declined to inform me that you were dealing with Tarakans when we were on the phone yesterday? Kendra was a bit more forthcoming during the car ride back to the hotel."

There is a sigh from the other end of the phone. The words, when spoken, are steeped in so much sorrow that Alex can't quite find it in her heart to hate the man, for all that might make life easier. "It was believed that it was worth the risk to get the demon statue off the street. I am sorry for the risk you were forced to take. For what it may be worth, we had believed at the time it was a minor one."

Alex's eyes narrow a bit at that. "If you believed there was any risk at all, why would you have your slayer out risking herself doing this crap? Why wouldn't you have kept her safe until you had dealt with the danger?"

There is a click, and the line goes to dial tone after a few seconds. Alex looks up, and sees that Kendra is looking at her with more than a little irritation. "Sorry Kendra." She mumbles. "The council and their "slayers are a tool not a person" mentality really pisses me off though."

Giles answers on the fourth ring. "Giles speaking."

Alex smirks into the phone. "Heya G-Man, hows life back in the states?"

There is a slight pause, then a carefully measured response. "Things here are fine. I had heard that there was trouble on your end though, and I deeply apologize for any problems that might have come about."

Alex flashes her eyes up to Jenny and Kendra, then speaks again to Giles. "Did they mention the part where they had Tarakans sniffing after their Slayer, decided not to tell us about it, and made a plan that sent her off with Jenny and I to get slaughtered when the soul shredder summoning ass clown that was after Kendra found us? Gotta say, Giles, not loving being collateral damage. Also not loving your organizations stock method of dealing with paid assassins after their slayer being to trade up to a younger slayer. I am not working with or around them again, don't ask me to. I don't care what kind of shape the world is in. Find another way. I swear I'll kill the fuckers if they pull this shit again."

There is silence for a few moments. "I understand. I hope the rest of your trip goes better. Keep in touch." With that the older man hangs up the phone and Alex sits back down on the bedside chair to calm down.

Kendra walks over, looking fairly adorable on bright green overalls with a sky blue shirt and red shoes. "You don't really think they were setting me up to die, were you?" Her eyes are watery, with just the hint of tears not quite fallen. Tears she hadn't let fall for a long time. But then, she'd been through a lot in the last day.

Alex just squeezes her eyes shut. "I don't have any proof, if that is what you are asking. But when Buffy was dealing with Tarakans, they didn't do shit, expected her to live or die on her own merits. Weren't willing to risk their own pasty asses. I can only assume they did the same here. If you have something you love that is in danger, you keep it safe. Not send it out into the streets." She looks up. "I am not saying that Sam is bad or doesn't care about you. Just that he takes orders from people that see slayers as something that are interchangeable and replaceable."

Kendra's tears are falling now, and Alex continues. "They're wrong, you know. Met two slayers now. Both individuals. Both unique. Both have saved my life. Both have given their lives for me, one of them for me and the whole town or world besides. Saying that you are something that can be replaced as easy as a carton of milk is just evil, and the fact that they believe it makes them a bunch of jaded old fucks that need to get their priorities straight at best. As evil as what they fight at worst."

If asked later, none of the three could tell you how it happened that they all ended up back on the bed in what Xander would later term a "cuddle puddle" while a newly two and a half foot tall sixteen year old had a bit of an emotional upheaval. But afterwards, when they are getting the delivery secured into the portable hole, it is obvious that it has helped her a lot.

It must be said that the ten foot vertical leap she made to exit the pit after helping with the delivery both answered some lingering questions and did wonders for her confidence.

In all, it takes them ten days to get clear of England. But that is because it takes that long for Jenny to secure legitimate identification through her clan for Kirsten, the name Kendra has chosen to go by.

Introducing her to the homunculus was an exciting time, and after that Alex gets new measurements and starts producing luggage and a wardrobe for her.

After Jenny hands her the new identification, Kendra (now Kirsten) looks up at her. "This says I am almost six feet tall, how am I ever going to pass for that?"

A hand sticks up out of the pit that has been in the middle of their hotel room floor for the duration, and dangling from it is a choker, an ear piece, and a belt with a pair of what to a normal person would be vicious daggers hanging off of it. To her they are closer to overbuilt short swords. "Sorry. Best I could do with the time window I had. We can work out some armor for you on our next stop, and upgrade your daggers. Right now they are pretty basic. Earpiece works with mine and Jenny's, as well as a few people in Sunnydale we work with. One mile range. Top button is on and off, bottom button mutes the mic. Easy peasy. I figure you know how to use a pair of swords, but the choker can activate an "enlarge" spell at will and indefinitely. It won't make you Kendra again. It won't make you human either, so I don't think kids are gonna happen unless some of the really weird source material ends up being true." Alex stops talking for a second and shudders. "But as long as you keep your hair covering your ears it should make it pretty easy to pass for human."

Jenny looks down at the two from where she is sitting on the bed, and sees Kirsten use the choker for the first time.

Her smile does a lot to heal all three of them.

Authors note.

Ick. All these feels are infesting my story. Something might need to die next chapter. Like, a lot.

Just saying.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

All about the timing.

The flight to Italy is long and unbelievably tedious for all three of them. Not so much for it being a hugely long flight, at a few hours it legitimately wasn't that bad. Unfortunately due to the sardine can like accommodations afforded in modern commercial aircraft, there was never the possibility of privacy to have the conversations they wanted to have. The primary one based around the message that was passed along to Jenny to when she called from the Airport to say that after numerous delays, they were finally going to be flying in.

It amounted to Enyos letting her know not to expect good things, and in fact not showing up at all might be better. In the end, and after multiple calls, it was agreed that the elders of the clan would meet Janna in a meeting room at a hotel near the airport, and shortly after that she would be expected to leave once again.

To say that she is nervous about this meeting is to put it lightly. As the three are walking through the hotel hallways towards the room they are supposed to be meeting the elders in, Alex finally asks Jenny the question that has been rambling around her mind. "So, what do you suppose is going on?"

With a pained look, Jenny responds. "If I had to guess? The elders dug up more information on you and Giles than I might have liked and decided that the only way to trust me in the clan again is to marry me off to some insipid moron that spends so much time repeating the elders that he may as well be a sock puppet, and Enyos is pushing for banishment." She offers a wry smirk. "As much as he can be an ass, he does care enough to understand me somewhat."

Kendra mulls this over. "Why would they be opposed to Giles? Mr Zabuto was always very complimentary of the man and his abilities."

Alex rolls her eyes slightly. "It might have something to do with him being a watcher, it isn't a terribly safe job to have a family member marry into. But, if we're being honest it could also have to do with his past. Apparently he had a wild streak in him when he was young. If they found documentation of it, I could see them being concerned."

Kendra nods. "Does this have to do with the Eyghon thing that you banished?"

Alex nods. "Among other things, I am sure. I get the impression that he was an equal opportunity degenerate for a while during his youth. I think this is the room. We ready?"

A pair of nods later, and Alex opens the door. Kendra is the first in, her hands on the hilts of the swords that are hiding among the folds of her long shirt. Jenny is next. Alex follows them in, though they all remain confused to find that there is nobody here. Instead the small meeting room has just three chairs and a small table facing a television and VCR that has been left on and paused. There is a folder on the table. The three sit down, and out of curiosity, Jenny unpauses the tape.

The recording clears up to a view of a small table in what is most likely a motor home or trailer of some sort. Enyos is in the picture, along with three other older people, two women, one man. They all look horrifically Ill, as though they have neither slept nor eaten for weeks. Enyos is the one who speaks, though his voice cracks with every word, and he has a need to stop to cough regularly.

"Janna. Fair odds by the time you see this we'll be dead. We don't have a lot of time, so I'll waste none of it being cryptic. Somebody made a wish. One that D'Hoffryn or one of his vengeance demon lackeys chose to enforce. We've spared who we could by stripping you of your name once we figured out the means by which this magical infestation was tearing us apart. If our scrying was correct, this will end up being a wish made by the child of one who was living under our vengeance."

Enyos looks down somewhat at that. "Made when she was half asleep, scared, and alone. It is for this reason that we are not revealing the name of the child. Whatever the demon will do to her will undoubtedly be punishment enough, and as the crone stated when she discovered this, that our vengeance should so terrorize a child that she should wish us to sicken and die, it is perhaps a fate we have earned. As we know better than most, vengeance is never free."

A coughing fit overtakes the old man for a few seconds before he can continue. "It is our belief that this illness will run its course completely by the second week of August. At that time, if no one else has, feel free to drop a hint to the authorities. There will be a bit of a mess to clean up."

Enyos turns away from the camera completely. "Remember, at the hotel, in the meeting room on the paper. Make sure you have rented the room for three consecutive days, she's traveling with a slayer of all things, nothing ever goes according to plan with one of those around." Then he once again breaks into a hacking cough and the recording stops, though the tape continues to play static until Jenny, in a half daze, turns off the Television.

All three of them then startle at the voice behind them. "That's a tough one Miss Calendar. You have my sympathies. Them vengeance demons though, they are a pack of trouble."

When Alex turns around she can see that Kendra already has, she's also crossed the distance, and is holding a short sword to the neck of a fairly stocky looking scruffy individual in a hat and long black coat who is looking at her with his mouth in a rather startled "O" shape. "Damn! Don't kill the messenger, I ain't even messenged anything yet!"

Jenny stands while Alex starts mumbling under her breath in that way that makes Jenny think she is casting something. "Who are you, and why are you sneaking around behind us? Kend..Kirsten, go ahead and put him down, I think he got the idea."

Kendra slowly lowers the man to the ground, where he makes it a point to spend a bit of time brushing off his jacket. "Want to get your slayer on a shorter leash please? That was completely uncalled for."

At this point Alex finishes whatever she is doing and there is a slight flash of light from her that seems to settle over the room, with everyone in it instinctively having some idea what it does. Kendra and Jenny offer pained smirks.

Their guest does not. "What the hell is this crap?!"

Alex stands up and gets next to Jenny. "How about you answer Jenny's original questions?"

The man still looks concerned, but decides to try to roll with things. "You can't pronounce my name. But I go by Whistler. I work for the Powers That Be." When they don't immediately look amazed at this revelation, he expands on his topic. "The Powers That Be are the ones that maintain the balance between good and evil, make sure that the evil never wins and the good never gets too far ahead." Then he looks a little confused. "I didn't mean to say quite all that. I meant to say that since the Powers That Be were planning to use Angel as their stooge to get a bunch of these damn prophecies green lit and your interference got him gacked. They were looking to see if you could be pressured into filling in for the once and future dust bunny." At this point his expression falls off into downright angry. "What the hell did you cast?!"

Jenny breaks into the conversation while he is still talking. "Did you or these "Powers That Be" have anything to do with my Clan getting killed?"

As she is talking, Kendra, smoothly moves forward with her swords to provide a distraction and the man finds himself talking as if by instinct. "No, no, of course not. Knew it was gonna happen, figured we could hit you when you were down, get more millage out of ya that way than if we waited until you were home and secure and WHY AM I STILL TALKING TO YOU PEOPLE?!"

With that he disappears. Kendra and Jenny both look at Alex. She offers a shrug. "Zone of Truth. I figured he was hip deep in the blood of your clan somehow, with how he showed up. Wanted to get to the bottom of it quick. Didn't expect all that, though I suppose we're better off knowing than not."

After collecting all the paperwork and the videotape, the three go back to the hotel room where they purchase plane tickets back home, before Jenny finally allows herself to break down.

Authors note.

I know. Shortest chapter ever. I am actually ashamed of this one. The Kalderash clan and how to deal with them fought me tooth and nail for like three days. I had roaming campervan versions, I had estate versions, I had cabin in the woods types. I very rarely have to delete something and rewrite and I had to give up and restart this chapter whole hog three freaking times. Finally I gave up. I admit it. I decided if they were gonna fight me that fucking hard, they could just die. They don't need to be in the story and can be a cautionary tale and a way to introduce the PTB.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Just a side trip to Boston.

"Giles, I remember telling you like less than two weeks ago that I didn't want to be dealing with the rest of your precious fucking council again, now explain to me why in the name of all that is good and holy in the god damned universe I am in fucking Boston on a pay phone racking up a bill on Jenny's credit card when we should be getting back on our fucking plane. And so help me, make it good."

There is a sigh on the other end of the line. "You are aware, of course, that Kendra has died. You didn't explicitly make that clear when last we spoke, but it was implied."

Alex nods absently. "Yes, I was there. About two feet away. Had to throw away those panties."

There is a slight pause and Giles continues. "Yes. Well, when she passed on another slayer was called. This slayer is in Boston, and is working with a watcher named Diana Dormer. Faith was discovered at the age of fifteen, and if the missive I received last week from her watcher and guardian of six months is to be believed, the now sixteen year old came from circumstances the likes of which the term 'broken home' cannot do justice."

Alex is getting irritated at this point, even more so than she was. "What does any of this have to do with me!"

There is silence again for a few moments. "Alex, The council's standard under such circumstances is to offer minimal assistance. Dormer isn't even a trained field watcher, she is a research specialist. Frankly, my superiors are setting the child up to fail and Diana to die. She knows this, but thought there might be a fighting chance until she determined that there was a master vampire in the area gunning for them. She requested assistance from the only person that she thought might care, the one who sent an unbelievably powerful magical weapon to the last slayer for no reason anybody can determine. She just didn't know that it wasn't me. Frankly, I think she is desperate enough to be trusted. But even if she wasn't, I somehow doubt you are the type that could abandon someone in such need."

Alex leans against the wall and slowly slides to the floor. Kendra's face darkens in hate as she is able to overhear both sides of the conversation easily. Jenny just looks confused and a bit strung out. Between the travel and what has happened to her former clan, she has been mentally battered quite thoroughly.

"Can we just move her to Sunnydale? Instead of flying, we could load them up and carpool it over for a couple of days? I don't really have any desire to try to take on a master vampire outside of our home turf."

"Alex, I did a bit of research into this particular master myself. If you leave him there, he will follow. And he will cut a swath of blood and pain across the land when he does, slowly building a horde to take Sunnydale with when he arrives. His name is Kakistos. Which translates roughly to "Worst of the worst." He is not a creature of subtlety."

Alex glares into the phone. "I hate you Giles. I hate you so much right now I need a new word for the amount I hate you. It's like, super extra special hyper hate or something. Give me the address and phone number. Tell them we're coming." Alex doesn't bother hanging up the phone, instead throwing the headset which causes the thing to careen wildly at the end of it's metal plated cord, then come back and knock her on the head.

"Ow. Damn it. Jenny, can we rent a car for a few days please? I think we are staying for a bit."

An hour later they are slowly making their way through the suburbs as the afternoon light gives way to evening. Jenny, having finally exhausted all of the factual questions the has about the earlier phone call, is now moving on to the more personal ones. "Alex, are you going to be okay with this? Giles seems to be making some big assumptions here."

There is silence for a few moments. "Probably. I mean, assuming he isn't telling me any lies and I don't think he is. My biggest problem with him is that he continues to work for these assholes, but honestly at this point I think he does it more or less because it is the best way he can think of to protect Buffy. So it's hard to come down too hard on him for that. Not that I won't anyway. He owes me big time for this crap. Just saying."

Kendra and Jenny offer a smile, though in both cases it is fairly strained. To say that it has been a tough couple of weeks would be putting it lightly. Jenny finally pulls up to the curb in front of narrow, two story brick townhouse that looks as though the basement is a separate apartment from the ground and second floors.

Kendra looks at it from the backseat. "This is it?"

Jenny nods. "Yeah. The above ground floors. Shall we go knock?"

Alex thinks about it. "I don't think so. We know where they are, there's a hotel like three blocks from here. We'll get a room and then we can send Skite out to take a peak at things. But real quick, Kendra? I know I gave it to you, but if you don't mind passing it along, think you could hit their front door with your old sword? You can't really make good use of it anyway. Awkward as hell with your actual size and stuff."

Kendra smirks and nods, rolls the window down, and then as though she was somehow launching a shot-putt somehow the sword is sunk nearly to the hilt in their front door, wobbling slightly back and forth with a belt and scabbard hanging haphazardly off the handle. There is a loud cry of surprise at the sound, and Jenny laughs as the three pull away.

An hour later they are settling into their hotel room.

"So, Kendra. I know you said you had done your time, and if you meant it and want to be done slaying I will totally respect that. But..." Alex waffles a bit as she kicks the rolls of cloth that opens the portable workshop. "If you just meant that you are done working for the watchers council directly then I have some toys you are going to need tonight when you go out to give Faith a hand."

When the Red and Green Wrights fly out carrying a suit of leather armor for her in halfling size, she giggles. "Of course I will help this new slayer. You cannot imagine how much I would have liked to have received such help when I was first starting out."

Alex nods. "Okay then. The armor isn't anything fancy yet, just a real basic protection enhancement, so don't expect miracles. I did manage to put together a pair of basic "True death" weapon crystals for your swords, so they should hit pretty hard, but don't get cocky, you'll still probably need a beheading or a heart shot to take them out and that won't be easy with weapons the size of an average stake, as I am sure you know."

Kendra nods, smiling brilliantly from her place down by the floor as she has reduced herself to her smaller stature to put on her armor.

"Also, Gimme your choker for a few minutes. I built an upgrade for it that should be pretty plug and play now that it is done. Won't be able to remove it from the item again, but, meh. Can't have everything."

Kendra looks a little disconcerted at that, but does so.

Alex takes the choker and pulls a new clasp out of a small velvet box that was handed to him by Red. With some caution, she lines it up perfectly with the original clasp, then squeezes the two together, causing a bright green light and a shock of static electricity to go through the room. Then she hands it back. Down in the pit, Jenny and Kendra can hear the disturbing sound of ratchets going full tilt, as though something is being switched out.

"A bit of an upgrade. Fortunately like effects on the same item are cheaper." She offers a wide grin, then continues as Ravage leaps up out of the pit, now wearing not only his customary armor set, but also a saddle of sorts. It sits on one side rather than astride his back, and is off set, like saddlebags, by another small parcel this one carrying a pair of wooden stakes and a small jug of holy water, all of which are strapped in tight. "Your choker now does enlarge or reduce. Now, seriously, reducing from there will have you about the size of a cat. A small cat. Good for stealth, hitching a ride on ravage. Maybe flying in on something if I ever get around to making a good candidate for that. But I wouldn't try to fight in it. But since you might need to be sneaking around I put a rush on it. Thought you might need it. One other thing? The Homunculus like you, and they'll fight for you as best they can. But they're not stupid and they don't want to die. If the odds get really bad, you might want to consider retreat options because they will be. They'll listen, but, just... You get me?"

Kendra nods. "That is fair. I will wear my earpiece, and you can tell me when they have decided, enough is enough, yes?"

At Alex's nod, she activates her choker.

The voice of an astounded eight inch tall pixie floats up from the tiny form on the floor. "Oh my gosh, everything is huge! I need a bowl of ice cream!"

Alex laughs. "When you get back. Skite is on site. He can let us know when anything happens and you can be there in about three minutes. Unless you really need him, I'll probably keep Drop Waddle here as a personal bodyguard. Is that okay? The problem with a hotel room. They don't need an invite to get in. Knowing there's a master here. Yeah. Not thrilled."

Jenny glances over. "Why didn't we just see if we could stay with Faith and Diana then?"

The two look at Alex expectantly. She looks at the ceiling. "Because if they can conclusively make a connection between Jenny, Giles girlfriend, myself, and this new pint sized amazon Kirsten, how long do you really think it's gonna take for the watchers council to figure out their Slayer cheated death and try to put the yoke back on her? Personally I think we are already taking far too many risks, no matter what Giles says about how desperate these people are. I am all about giving them a hand, but lets not shoot ourselves in the foot here, alright?"

Neither seem to have an adequate response to that, so a few minutes later when Skite reports that Faith and Diana have headed out for patrol, Kendra Hops into the saddlebag seat, buckles in, and her excited giggles are heard by the keen of ear for the five blocks it takes for the two to catch up.

Faith is laughing as she steps along, flipping a stake in one hand and fingering absently the pommel of her shiny new sword with the other. Kendra can see Skite has taken up position in the trees, and is mostly still though when he does move he makes it a point to scamper in a way that seems very squirrel like unless you happen to see the black wings against something.

After a few minutes, Diana directs a scowling faith into a cemetery, one that even from here Kendra can see is still seeing some use. Creeping along behind them, it is obvious both from the way they are moving about and the snippets of conversation that Kendra hears that Diana is doing her level best to prepare Faith for what will be an encounter with a fledgling vampire from the grave they are circling. Faith is obviously bored and wants to be getting on with things. Kendra smiles a little. She remembers this point in her own training, though it occurred long before she was called and she was only seven at the time. But the attitude was very similar.

"Q to K, come in K."

Keying up her microphone, Kendra's eye widen as a giggle escapes her minuscule lips. "K? Okay for now, but I need a better call sign then this. I expect better from my friend than regurgitating the first letter of my name."

There is a short laugh. "Everyone's a critic, I tell you what. Look, I assume they are waiting on a fledge, but you should know that Skite has eyes on a half dozen vamps incoming to your area from a mausoleum on the far side of the cemetery. Probably coming to welcome the new leech to the fold. You may wanna get combat ready, just in case they haven't cleared out in time."

"Do you think I should introduce myself to them?" Kendra asks pointedly.

There is silence for a moment. "Really, K, that's your call. If it was up to me I would say stay out of sight, when they show up keep Dormer safe, probably do it while three feet tall if you can, they aren't gonna mistake you for a slayer like that, and I'll have ravage back up Faith. Once they're clear, get tiny, mount up, get clear, go back into stalker mode and we can give them a call tomorrow."

Hopping out of her pouch and adjusting to her actual height, Kendra responds. "Okay Q. We'll try it your way."

Within a couple of minutes, there is a call from further in the cemetery and both Faith and Diana turn to face it.

"Hey Chicky's! Did you two dolls come to play?"

This is spat out by a slightly overweight yet seemingly disgustingly cheerful vampire whose demeanor and clothing can be suitably reduced to 'Disco Good.' It may be the most horrifying thing Alex has seen all month. The more muscled and slightly more serious one next to him grunts slaps him once on the shoulder. "This looks like the slayer. Like the watcher. We have orders. To bring them before Kakistos.

As soon as that one says the name, the other five all chant, as though it is some kind of demented mantra: "For Kakistos we live! For Kakistos we die!" Then they charge.

Faith is strong, but not experienced. At four to one odds things go south for her quickly, putting her entirely on the defensive and with her back to a tree, helpless as she sees the last two sneer as they close in on Diana who after narrowly missing the heart on her first shot is desperately trying to reload her crossbow.

And then there is laughter. The vampires are laughing. Looking up momentarily from her exertions she can see that a child wielding what almost has to be toy swords has stepped out from behind a tombstone to defend her. Tripping over her own tongue in her horror, Diana redoubles her efforts to load her crossbow and pleads to the child. "Run, get out of here, run as fast as you can!"

The child glances back once, smirks, and says: "Mr. Giles says hello, miss Dormer."

Then she flings herself screaming a battle cry at the unsuspecting vampires. A tiny creature that moves with the grace of a ballerina and the power of a runaway truck, wherever her blades meet vampiric flesh leaving long furrows of smoking, rotted, ruin. At the same time, she can look over at the once one sided fight that Faith has gotten into and see that things have taken a turn for the better. There is some kind of, of mechanical dog. A robot dog, for lack of a better term. While it is not as effective as this tiny warrior maybe it is at least as quick and when it hits, the wounds it leaves behind are just as crippling.

Within a minute, the once horribly one sided fight against them has been handled, and thanks to the speed of the, and she cannot believe she is even thinking this, robot dog... None will even get away to tell their master what happened.

Diana Dormer isn't a field watcher, (though she did manage to get her crossbow reloaded thank you very much.) but she is a researcher. She is a very good researcher, in fact. She was working with a potential because she was trying to get a new classification of field personnel approved, the field researcher, simply because she was tired of only getting to see samples that were so old they were practically freeze dried. As she is a very good researcher, she is also a fairly good scientist and has a grounding in all the basic knowledge that is taught at places like MIT. She won't be teaching classes anytime soon, but with some study she could pass many, or even most of the introductory courses taught there and within certain fields, many of the more advanced ones.

And that is why she knows that this robot dog is not a robot. She isn't certain what it is. Only what it is not, and it is not a robot.

As she stares at the robot dog and the small girl that is cleaning bits of gunk out of its joints with a stiff wire brush, Faith calls out from where she was leaning against a tree. A call that is part warning, part terror, part resignation. Then from directly behind Dormer there is the unforgettable sound of a vampire collapsing into ash, and when she turns around, she can see that the one they were originally here for had risen and was somehow killed. She sees the child look into the sky and say, "I thought you were keeping him at the hotel?" There is a beat missed, and then. "Thanks."

Faith walks up to Diana, who is also walking up to the small girl. Diana puts her hand out to shake. "Diana Dormer. This is my ward, Faith. Thank you for your help. You said Giles sent you?"

Kendra looks up at them. Looks at Faith, who looks confused, and maybe a little hurt. "Kirsten." She says, shaking the older woman's hand gently. She pats the side of the dog affectionately. "This is Ravage, and the eye in the sky that just nailed your fledgie is DW. Honestly, we just stopped by to drop off the sword, glad to see you're using it. Sorry about your door. All we knew about the area at the time was that we had twenty minutes to get under cover before the sun went down and a master vampire was wandering around. We figured you'd get over it. But since we were here for a few days, we figured we'd follow you on a patrol or three, help if you needed it. Really, all we ask is that you keep us out of your reports to the Watchers Council."

Diana doesn't like that stipulation much. "Why would you prefer that?"

Kendra shrugs. "Because we don't mind helping good people doing good things when it's our idea, but the council likes to tell other people what to do a lot. We've dealt with them before, and don't want to again. Giles says you need help and are good people, so here we are. It was kinda on our way anyway. But if we smell more watchers, we'll just assume you'd rather have them around and we'll leave. That simple."

And then so would the watchers, Diana realizes with the clarity that comes with knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are being screwed by your boss in ways that are never even kinda fun.

Kendra looks back to the two of them. "So, do you want us to give you a call tomorrow afternoon? Maybe we can try to figure out how to deal with this Kakistos?

Diana gives her a grateful nod and says they will be available anytime after two.

Faith wasn't even sure what to make of all of this. She was grateful, of course. To be alive, to still have Diana. But she was supposed to be this one girl in the world, but instead there's two? And now there's two and a shorty with a mechanical dog? And crossbow bolts from heaven? And some kind of extra backup at a hotel nearby? What. The. Fuck? And how does she sign up? Because six to two odds where her back-up is Diana, though she loves her watcher and everything the woman has done for her... That isn't good, and while this was probably the worst it seems to be that odds like it are happening more and more.

Author's note:  
OK. Boston will be one more chapter MAYBE two, and then we will finally be back in good old Sunnydale. First few chapters back there will be getting back into a much more episodic "bad guy of the week" type and I hope you like my ideas, cause I went a little bit crazy with some of them. Should be a good time. But first, to Faith, or not to Faith...


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Secrets? Who needs those?

The next morning, Kendra is the last to get up. The one bed room they ended up in they had originally intended to sleep in shifts within, partly for safety though with the sheer number of active homunculus around, mostly for bed space. It turned out though that this wasn't needed at all.

As it happens, eight inch tall people with slayer constitutions can be disgustingly comfortable sleeping on a cushioned chair and using a spare hoodie as both blanket and pillow.

When Kendra does finally stir in the morning, it is to the sound of paper wrapping being crinkled and horribly fattening American fast-food breakfast being waved in her direction. Alex's somewhat mocking tone is easily heard over the sound of her stomach growling, but only due to the diminutive size of it currently. "Time to wake up, we have about three hours to get our act together before we go down to their place." Alex drops the sausage, egg, cheese and biscuit based monstrosity on the small table by the chair, still mostly in its wrapper. Kendra peers over the edge of the table and can't stop herself from salivating at the thought of all that food, were she to try to eat it at her current size.

Alex laughs a bit at her antics and steps back to the kitchenette counter, where Jenny is alternating between eating and going through the reams of paper that her family left her in the folders that were left at the hotel in Rome.

"So what is all that anyway?" Alex asks, while dipping a deep fried excuse for a hashed brown wedge into some ketchup.

Jenny doesn't respond for a few seconds, then she looks up, her eyes almost struggling to get clear of the pages. She shakes her head, seemingly at a bit of a loss, opens her mouth to speak, closes it, tries again. Finally she puts down the breakfast sandwich she had been nibbling on, closes the folder altogether, and faces Alex directly. "There is a lot of stuff here. Deeds to land holdings. Safety deposit boxes and vaults that are entrusted or willed to me. Lists of things that are getting mailed to me. But there's a price. A price they were apparently afraid to tell me about for fear I'd tell them to shove it up their ass, and a price that now that there's nobody else to pay, I don't really have a choice." She purses her lips in irritation and blows out a sigh. "The three black folders contain the Vengeance lists. Files on who, and why, what they did, what our response was, where we think they are. There is like two hundred of them currently active. Most of them are small fry. Little stuff. Left me at the alter, five years of irritable bowel and premature ejaculation. That kind of thing. But the spells didn't end just because the clan did. So somebody has to be responsible for them. Either keep an eye on these people somehow or find them and find a way to end the curses on them. And some of these people, damn it Alex, they needed to be cursed. Honestly, they needed to be stuck in the electric chair." She opens a file and flips it around to show a picture of a half dressed man with matted, filthy and unkempt hair, an untrimmed beard that was out of control, and naked aside from some shredded remains of pants. His half smile is at odds with a snarl that seems to somehow be coming from the same picture. "This son of a bitch is a werewolf. Infected with with lycanthropy. I know. Sad, right? Well, when somebody told him he should lock himself up at night on the full moon he apparently missed the memo about doing that when he was alone. The whole supernatural community in the area knew he was infected, but they knew he locked himself up, could hear him in the early mornings thrashing around in the basement of his home. They left him to it, he was a good guy, did what he was supposed to do. When they found mutilated bodies after a full moon, it couldn't be him, they knew he was locked up on nights these women had died. These children had died. By the time he was caught, he'd killed over sixty girls and young women. Four of them Kalderash. The clan was harsh with him, but not harsh enough if you ask me. They should have just killed him."

Alex is looking a bit green, but can't help herself. "What did they do?"

Jenny still looks unbelievably upset at the whole problem that has been dumped in her lap, but she can't help but quirk a slight grin. "The Elders decided that if he was so fond of eating the flesh of things that walk on two legs it would be a travesty to take such a pleasure from him. They cursed him with an unbearably powerful need to cannibalize his own flesh. He can fight it, most of the time. It says here that he'll eat his own finger and toenail clippings as well as scabs as a matter of course. But on the full moon, he devours himself until he can't function. Heals. Does it again. Three or four times a night, and by the time the full moon is over he can spend the rest of the month recovering from what he does to himself. He'd be better off dead. We'd be better off with him dead, and if we aren't going to kill him, removing the curse is just letting loose a murderer. There is like fifty cases like this. Some a little better, some worse. But all would be imprisoned for life or dead by any normal system of justice."

She hangs her head. "I don't even have any idea what I want to do with this, much less what I should do."

Alex reaches out and holds her hand. "We'll figure it out. We can run it by Giles when we get home. Maybe he'll have some ideas. But if you want my vote on that one? We find him and put a nice silver bullet to him. Maybe not even so much for him, but for the sake of any poor schmuck who has this disease that is doing the right thing. Why leave something like that out where people can see it to get the wrong impression?"

The two hear Kendra Grunt an assent from around her sandwich from behind Alex. Then Alex speaks up again. "In the meantime, can we put these files away for now? We need to make a couple of decisions here. We are kinda in a bad spot."

Jenny starts putting paperwork away and looks at Alex quizzically. "How so?"

Alex jerks a thumb back at Kendra. "Kendra here let slip that she wasn't alone last night, remember? In a big way. We also had to show a Watcher that wasn't G-man a homunculus. We never really discussed what her story was going to be, which I am going to call all of our bad, but it doesn't change the fact that now that we're here we kinda need to come up with a direction to go. Basically, if she decides to go running off to the Watchers Council with what she knows already, between what they know and what she knows they can make some guess work that'll make our lives unbelievably shitty. But the only way to stop the evil that I can see is to come clean and pray she'll see reason if we offer to help her with her taquitos problem."

Jenny looks up, smirking. "That's Kakistos."

Alex nods. "Yeah. What she said."

Kendra laughs a little. "So we are offering assistance for silence? We are the cheapest soldiers of fortune ever."

Alex rolls her eyes. "Unless somebody else can see a better way to get through this than that? I considered just sending Kendra to their house and the two of us working through phones or something, but honestly I think working behind the scenes like that would make Dormer more likely to go to the council, and I'd rather not have Faith, or even Diana, have to pay a blood price to a master vampire for an attempt at security that I don't think is going to work anyway."

Jenny looks at her. "So basically you are saying that we should all head on over and hope that if we are really nice, and really helpful, maybe Dormer won't thank us by sicking the damn council on us by way of a thank you?"

Alex looks disgruntled to a degree that is beyond belief. "That's half of it. The other half being that if she goes to the council with what she already knows we are probably screwed anyway. Giles knows me. Giles knows you. The council knows this, we just made a damn delivery for him. You and I were the last to see Kendra alive. Kirsten gave Kendra's sword to them. Admittedly even if I had seen the pitfall I still would have given it to her, but I might have come up with a more clever way to do it and we sure as hell wouldn't have been taking credit for it. But as things stand, we are already pretty screwed. At this point it's just damage control. If we don't want the damn Watchers Council crawling up our collective bums with magnifying glasses and big holier than thou speeches full of bullshit with nine millimeter responses probably if we turn them down, we really need Dormer to play ball."

Kendra looks up from her sandwich. "What if she won't? What if we get there and the place is wall-to-wall watchers?"

Alex sighs. Looks at Jenny. "I know you're the adult here, but if it was up to me and she sells us out? We drop off the grid, do our level best to take out Kissy-toes, or whatever his dumb name is, and then get the hell out of town before things can get any more stupid. I'm already starting to hate this place and I've barely been here a day. The hellmouth is less annoying to me, and that's saying something."

Kendra reaches into the bag for a second sandwich as Jenny is putting the last of the folders away. "It sounds like the plan is to try to team up then. Are we letting them in all the way? Or are we going to try to keep secrets still?"

Alex shrugs. "Honestly I'm not sure what secrets are left to keep, other then Kendra's and mine real identities. They know I make magic items, they know about the homunculus, and they know that we have a sword wielding halfling maniac that can butcher vamps traveling with us. I mean, what else is there really? At this point I think the best case scenario is that she is grateful enough to just keep her mouth shut, and the most we can really hope for is that we can get back home before one of her reports, whether she means to or not, causes the idiots to start poking around. Long term? I hate to say it but I think that thanks to Giles leaning on me one time too many my options are going to get narrowed down to either leaving the hellmouth and disappearing somehow or seeing to it that the Watchers Council decides that I am really not worth the effort."

There is a moment of silence for that as the three process what has been said. Then Jenny looks at Alex. "I had a thought about Kakistos. Well, about any vampire, really, but I spent some time on the phone with Giles last night while you were assisting with the patrol and got some further information. Apparently, he is so old that his hands and feet have become cloven, and his skin has hardened to the point that it is more or less impossible to get a stake into it."

Kendra draws her swords and raises an eyebrow. Jenny nods and continues. "That is one thought, absolutely. But I was also thinking, we don't generally use use normal hunting tips on our crossbow bolts, much less use crossbow bolts with an unsecured tip. But what would happen if something like Kakistos got hit with a few broad heads that ended up left in his body and then you hit him with that wand you were using that made Ted melt down? Wouldn't he pretty much burn up from the inside out? So even if the tip can't reach the heart, he'd still be taking serious hurt from it? We could do the same thing with buckshot too, for that matter."

Alex considers. "Well, there's no reason why it wouldn't work excepting that I would have to be within like forty feet of a master vampire to make it happen. The range on 'Heat Metal' is kinda garbage. Can't tell you how not thrilled about that idea I am. Maybe we plan for it but keep it in reserve. Honestly, if we can find out for sure where the thing is, I am pretty sure we can take him. I have a few tricks I can pull that will go a long way toward seeing this done, but the problem is that I need to know ahead of time. I'll need like five minutes of prep before we kick in the door. If I can get that, we'll go through whatever he's got there like it was nothing I'm betting."

Kendra smiles, but looks confused. "How so?"

Alex leans back in her chair, shrugs. "A lot of the stuff I can enchant items with permanently I can also do temporarily. Takes about a minute, lasts about ten minutes to ten hours depending on the spell. So take your swords for example. Right now they do effectively about double damage against vamps and allow you to actually go for heart shots. With a minute to cast, I can have them doing double that, or a bit more than four times standard damage, with a better chance to hit, for just under two hours. A few hits, and heart shot or not you'll likely overwhelm the regeneration of most lower tier vamps and cause them to dust at that point. After that I can add some fire or whatever else. If I have time, I have options. Armor and weapons. I can also upgrade the homunculus the same way. Actually, there is even more I can do for them. But the thing is, if we get jumped instead of the other way around, then, well. I haven't spent a lot of time making toys for me. Been mostly trying to keep slayers alive. Sooo... If I get jumped I am probably going to be worm food. I'll need a pretty serious escort if I am gonna be going in, especially since it doesn't make a lick of sense for me to use a bunch of spells to upgrade my combat capabilities when the best I could do for myself is maybe be adequate. But I guess we can go over this more once we talk to Diana and Faith. Hopefully they have a better idea what is going on. Are we agreed, at least, that we are mostly going to come clean with them? Proper names and former slayerness notwithstanding?"

As the other two women nod, the three look around the room to see that Red, Green, and Yellow are already packing things away in a whirlwind of movement.

A couple of hours later, after showers and a light lunch, the three approach the home of the most recent slayer called and Alex can't help but smirk at the square of duct tape over the hole they put in the door.

She'll need to fix that while she's here. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but... Yeah. Kinda rude.

Kendra (No, damn it Kirsten, she's Kirsten right now, get used to it, Alex thinks to herself) is the one to knock and the door opens almost instantly. Faith is standing there, with Diana slightly behind her. The two step back a few paces, Diana smiling and Faith mumbling under her breath.

"Didn't really think you'd show."

After the three ladies step in and are led to a cozy living room, introductions are made by Kirsten.

"Faith, Diana, these are my friends. Alexandra, who crafted the sword you now wield, and Jenny, who takes care of us and tries to keep us out of trouble."

"Unsuccessfully." Is Jenny's laughing commentary.

Alex just nods and keeps her eyes on Diana.

Diana looks at the three and after offering some refreshment, which was turned down, she speaks about more current events. "First, I would like to thank you again for your assistance last night. My faith in my Slayer is absolute, but even still your assistance was most timely and appreciated." She stops for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "In the interest of full disclosure, I feel that I should tell you a couple of things. First, I contacted Rupert Giles this morning. You asked me not to contact the Watcher's Council, so I did not. But I dislike going into a situation blind. So I spoke with him at length."

She fidgets in her seat a moment, then continues, her dark blonde hair waving a bit as she nods to herself, as though she has made a decision. "Frankly, what I learned concerned me greatly." She turns to Kirsten. "He does not know you. I described a tiny warrior of great skill, no more than three feet tall and he asked if I was inebriated at the time. Oddly though, he not only knew of your robot dog but knew both its name and the name of the unseen thing that was flinging crossbow bolts to save me last night. He also gave me the names of both of you." She points to Alex and Jenny. Her eyes are alight with curiosity and perhaps lacking as much humility as Alex might have been hoping for.

"The two of you were in a bulletin I received from the council not long ago. Within a day or two of Faith being activated by Kendra's death. A death that neatly destroyed the corpse utterly and only the two of you were there to witness. Delivering a demon capable of causing hell on earth to the council using powerful magical means to expedite customs issues. Possible involvement in the take down of the Judge and at least half of the scourge of Europe. The banishment of possessing entities to another plane of existence, and lets not forget, supplying weapons to hunters of the supernatural. Then handing to us Kendra's old weapon. So I have an exceptionally powerful magic user and magic item creator plus what Giles describes as a supremely talented techno-pagen that would be more than capable of whistling up an iron clad new identity for somebody. Then a third member that your friends from home don't know and you seem to have met on your travels. A third member that can fight like a slayer, with the strength and speed of a slayer, yet you are treating like a sister and if the looks I am getting right now are any indication, you'd die for. Or at least kill for."

She sighs in the face of the looks of suspicion she is getting from across the room. "I don't pretend to understand everything that is going on, though I would love to find out if you ever felt I was worth the risk. I can promise I have no intention of telling the Watcher's Council anything. To say that they have lost their place of prominence in my heart as a place from which to judge my morality would be putting it very lightly. But, can I ask?"

She turns to Kirsten. "Are you Kendra?"

Author's Note.

Yeah. Super secret spies they are not. Anybody that really thought they were going to be able to keep Kendra active without her getting found out by people that witnessed it really needs to rethink the levels of paranoia that dealing with the supernatural day in and day out would instill in a person. Between that and not giving Giles the 411 so he could back their play? This was doomed. But, Diana is smart. So it was probably doomed anyway, this just made it a cakewalk.

We got one more chapter in Boston. Still debating whether or not Faith will be joining the crew back in Sunnydale or not. I love the character, but I am also a real big fan of keeping my cast fairly small so I can move things along without feeling like people I deem important aren't getting screen time, if that makes sense. I'll mull it over.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Urban Renewal.

The near silence in the room stretches for a good ten seconds as Alex facepalms, Jenny goes as white as a sheet, and the halfling looks up at both of them while shrugging one shoulder and biting her lip.

"I guess our response probably told you. But, um. Yes. I am."

Diana smiles unreservedly for the first time that day. "I knew you were powerful, Alexandra. I could tell by what the watchers council has sent me that the two of you were both impressive. But to pull the wool over the eyes of the Tarakans? I don't know that it has ever been done. As far as they and the Council are concerned, Kendra died. Case closed. They even had one of their tame seers double check to make sure." She turns back to Kendra. "If you don't mind telling me, I mean, if it isn't some kind of trade secret, how did you do it? In case I ever need to use the technique for Faith."

Alex throws her head back and groans. "Oh my god, no, please, can we please not? Kendra, please. The last thing I need is more pressure from the damn Watcher's Council, you know what they'd do with that." Then turns to Diana. "Is it really not enough that we came to help you with your Master Vampire problem? Can that please be enough for now?"

Kendra looks at the crestfallen Diana and the downcast eyes of Faith, who is now hearing that whatever this miracle get out of jail free card is, she isn't worthy of it. She nudges Alex, then nods at Faith, who is scowling at the floor as if trying to decide whether to rage or cry.

Alexis hangs her head. "Fine. I'm gonna go make some tea. In a month, when her reports have tipped the fuckers off and they're fitting me for a ball and chain to go with my explosive collar, I want you to know that I hold you entirely responsible." She gets up and heads to where she saw the kitchen was coming in, starts rummaging around through cupboards.

Jenny turns to Faith and Diana. "It wasn't a big secret to keep her alive. We, well, we didn't manage that. The Tarakans weren't wrong. They just weren't able to keep her dead. Alexandra has some..." She thinks for a few seconds. "Highly unusual talents. One of them involves bringing back the recently deceased into a new body. The problem is the soul has to be willing, and the body they get is random and not always even close to human. I've since seen the list and read the descriptions of the options. At three feet tall, Kendra still got lucky."

Diane whispers. "She can force the dead back to life? You were cheated from your rest?"

Kendra raises and eyebrow. "Did the council say how the Tarakans had me slain?"

Diana shakes her head. "Just that it was an assassination, and very quick. Frankly, I was assuming a sniper's bullet."

Kendra purses her lips in disgust. "I was plagued for six days by an assassin mage who was summoning a Stygian Soul Shredder, and I had an unlucky moment. There was to be no eternal reward for me. When Alex heard this, she fixed it. Because that is what she does, if people let her. She fixes things. Makes them better. But the council doesn't seem to want to do that, and have been generally getting in her way for awhile now. Between sending my old watcher to harass her, and then sending her out with me when they knew I was dodging an assassin. Both occasions when she had done nothing but help their own cause."

Jenny looks towards the door to the kitchen where she can hear the water running and lowers her voice to a whisper. "I'll be honest, Miss Dormer. Prove to her that you can be trusted. Prove to her that you are able to set aside blind loyalty to a backstabbing Council in favor of friends that can help you and keep you alive, and Faith may well be the first Slayer in history to live to thirty without dying. Something Buffy and Kendra have both already failed at. If you can't prove this? I don't see you getting a second chance. She is pretty gun shy, at this point, and for good reason."

The cry from the kitchen is so incongruous it causes them all, even Faith, a strained chuckle when it happens. "What is it with you Watcher types? What is wrong with normal freaking tea that comes in little bags, why do I have to deal with all this loose leaf crap? Giles is the same way, makes me crazy!"

Faith motions to herself and then to the door to the kitchen. At Diana's nod, she gets up and walks over to lend their new friend a hand.

"The tea balls are in the drain board. We used them last night."

Alex nods, poking around the ceramic jars on the counter looking for the one that contains the sugar. "Yeah, I saw them. Just annoying. It's like adding fifteen extra steps to a cup of tea. Even makes the cleanup more of a pain."

Faith shrugs. She doesn't really disagree, but backing Alex up here would be highly disloyal to Diana, and as Diana is probably the one human being on the face of the planet that actually gives a shit about her that isn't going to happen.

"Why'd you come to help, if you hate the council so much?" Faith asks. The question isn't loud. It isn't even particularly strained, or said as if there is real emphasis on it. But when Alex looks up, she can see it in her eyes.

She wants to know what I expect to get out of this. She wants to know my angle. She expects this to be a scam, even now.

Alex turns to Faith directly, closing the last jar as she does so. "I've been privileged so far in my life to fight next to two slayers, as well as read the Watcher's journals about the exploits of dozens more. I realize that isn't a huge sampling from a scientific perspective, but let me tell you what I've learned so far."

Alex places the jar back on the counter and organizes her thoughts for a moment while Faith backs up a step. This is sounding like it was gonna get way deeper than she was ready for.

"Slayers are generally called between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. On average, they are dead within six months. Now, if you parse through the data available, the lifespan of the slayer is actually shorter if the council is involved. By an average of five weeks. They kill a lot more before they fall, true. Or at least, it is recorded that they do. But they are used up like a drill bit and then tossed aside when the Council decides to replace it."

Alex gives a dry chuckle, and leans against the counter. Holding her head in her hand and rubbing her eyes she continues.

"You know before last Halloween I tried really hard to see the good the Council was doing. I really did. But, my circumstances changed. My research needed to be a lot more targeted in the what if and the examples of what they'd done in the past. I can't find the hard evidence yet to convince Giles, but I think the reason that they only supply a single watcher instead of a team is because the watchers that are chosen to pair with Slayers are the ones that basically had too much of a conscience to work in other areas of the organization. If you read through the journals for the last hundred years it's always the same thing. Optimistic and dedicated people that want their slayer to be the first one to be able to die of old age, then the council spends however long their slayer lasts essentially grinding away at their hope until when they finally lose this precious burden that they would have given their life for, and many do, they are a shell that'll do what they're told for the next thirty years. You see their names crop up in journal reports later doing things like stealing new potentials from their parents to tell a new fresh faced Watcher some lie about how they got their ugly mitts on the child. Frankly, I wonder if along with everything else Slayers have some ability to sense duplicity if they spend enough time around a person, and this is the Council's way to get past that. See to it that you only ever deal directly with people that don't know the whole score and are dedicated enough not to ask too many questions until its too late."

She looks up sharply. "That's just a theory, by the way. I wouldn't count on it being true even if all slayers were created equal, and I'm not sure they are."

Faith nods. While this is undeniably interesting, she can't help but be a little annoyed that the long winded bitch has yet to answer the fucking question. The kettle begins to whistle and after setting up a few of the tea balls into cups, she pours the boiling water while Alex continues talking after a quick nod of thanks.

"Here's the thing. If you read those journals. Really read them. Word for word. Between the lines. I think by the end, at least seventy percent or more of those Council Slayers knew what was coming and they did their job anyway. They did it and they saved people by the hundreds, maybe thousands. Maybe sometimes the whole planet. Apocalypses are a thing. But they knew they were gonna die, and they knew they were getting played by assholes and they did it anyway."

Alex takes her cup. "Honestly, I don't know if I have what it would take to do that Faith. I don't know if many do. I don't know that you do, though I suspect that whatever it is that makes you a Slayer also makes that damn likely. But I do know that anything I can do to make that job easier, to keep you alive longer, and to make your life happier, I'm prepared to do."

She gets a sour look on her face. "Assuming the fucking council doesn't shoot me first."

Faith looks a little confused. "That simple?"

Alex nods. "That simple."

The slow smile that breaks out across Faith's face is like seeing the sun peering from behind a stormy sky. "All right then."

Taking the tea into the living room, the cups are passed around. Diana is the first to speak. "I would like to apologize. I saw what I thought could be a way out of this mess and went for the brass ring without considering that it might hurt the one holding it were I to pull."

Alex shakes her head. "Look, can we just get down to business? What do we know about Kaki-whoey aside from him being old and hard to hurt?"

Diana reaches to the coffee table for a notebook and moistens her fingertip, flipping idly through a few pages. "He lives, for lack of a better word, in an old brick and mortar warehouse not far from the docks that has been semi abandoned since the ending of the second world war."

Jenny quirks an eyebrow. "Semi abandoned?"

Diana nods, flips two pages, and continues. "Yes. It seems that it was used by the navy extensively at that time as well as during the first world war and the civil war, and there was talk of making it a historical site. Unfortunately when the paperwork got stalled indefinitely nobody else picked up the project so it has been left to rot for the last fifty years or so."

She flips back a couple of pages and sighs. "To be honest, as bad as Kakistos is, and yes, he is bad, he isn't the real problem. The problem is his right hand man, er, vampire. Mr. Trick. Before you say anything, I didn't name him."

Kendra quirks a delicate looking eyebrow. "Why is this Mr Trick such a problem?"

Diana scowls into her notes. "Kakistos is old school. In fact, he redefines old school. Spears were probably a new innovation when he was turned. He is difficult to hurt and will be very dangerous, but is a known quantity. Trick is a different breed altogether. Black male. Slightly above average height. Slender. He likes guns. He likes traps. He is a fan of hostages, of turning friends and family, of getting legitimate authorities involved and then claiming to be the offended party right up until he can get away. He is known to stalk and turn people for specific skill sets, so expect to deal with more than your average frat boys. He'll have cops, mafia goons, soldiers, any combination of the above. He runs Kakistos' illegal but still mundane rackets that turn profit in the city, so he'll have normal people on his payroll as well in the form of lawyers, pimps, enforcers. I shudder to think what the creature will be capable of if he survives long enough to attain master status. A frontal assault would be madness, there is no doubt in my mind that we would simply be gunned down."

Alex considers for a minute. "How much of an impact are they really making in the city? I mean, not to be an ass, but if I could come up with ways to greatly increase our odds if we hunkered down for a week or two and just maintained normal patrols to whittle down their numbers, what would be the damage? How many do they kill?" She stops and hangs her head. "Sorry to put it so bluntly, but you are giving me really ugly information here. If I can double our chances in a week and all they are gonna do is nibble on a couple of jack-offs that were cheating on their wives at a brothel anyway, I say we take the week. If they're murdering schoolkids by the busload, obviously that assessment changes."

Diana nods. "No, that is fair. Unless they are recruiting, which they may be after last night, they average just over one kill per day. Though the local blood banks and butcher shops do a brisk trade, I've noted. In a city the size of Boston, frankly the statistic is practically invisible. I suspect that the one per day is for Kakistos himself. A vampire as old as he would be unlikely to be willing to stoop to animal or donated sustenance."

Jenny looks at Alex and Kendra. "I think we should get a look at this warehouse. Think we should pull out Skite tonight? I'll ask the questions and you can have him check it out for me?"

Diana looks at Jenny confused while Alex nods. Alex can't help it and smirks. "I know that smile, you have something in mind, don't you?"

Jenny giggles. "Maybe. I won't know for sure until I get a look at it. But if the Navy used it in the second world war, it would have been wired up for at least lighting and possibly heat. The wiring they used then was, well, it was bad. Cloth around metal, basically. A lot of the infrastructure of these old warehouses, even the brick and mortar ones is wood. So if they are still on the grid, and somebody that knew what they were doing were to turn the power on full bore at noon? Well. It would be a really bad time to be a vampire I am guessing."

Kendra turns to Diane. "Mr. Zabuto always told me that a master vampire will have a back way out. Do we know Kakistos'?

Faith is the one that answers. "Storm drains. They always duck into the storm drains whenever I am anywhere near there and it starts getting close to dawn. I bet they have a way in through the floor."

Alex nods. "So we either plug the hole or have something waiting for them, kick on the power, the whole place burns down and whatever is left gets fried by the sun as the rescue workers try to save them. Not perfect, but viable. Now, lets get the map overlays for the city and storm drains, if you would Jenny?" Jenny nods and slides her laptop out of her bag. Pricking her thumb once with a safety pin, and wiping the blood on the casing while saying a few words causes the machine to glow. Diana jerks at the sight. "What did you do?"

Jenny, distractedly looks halfway up. "What? Oh, that. I needed access to the internet so I piggybacked on the inactive second phone line coming into your house. It shouldn't cause you any problems. If it does let me know."

While she is doing this, Alex is standing up and as soon as there is a break in the conversation she gets Diana's attention. "Hey, look. I guess you already know the biggest secret." She jerks her head toward Kendra. "But for the record, this is another thing that is definitely on the no-telling-the-council list, OK? I need to take over your living room here for the duration of our stay. Need the space. Like, a fourteen by eight patch. Gimme a hand somebody moving some furniture?"

A raised eyebrow and a bit of exertion later, the two portable holes are laid out a couple of feet apart. As soon as the work space is open, the homunculus emerge in all their glory, Ravage leaping gracefully out and sitting next to Kendra stoically, as she is the one he is currently defending. Drop waddle flies out and perches somewhat oddly to the back of a stuffed chair. Skite as usual flits about like he's lost his mind and starts randomly exploring his environment. The three wrights fly over to Alex and hug various portions of her anatomy, then back off and look at her expectantly. She nods towards Faith and the three grin. And zip back into the work area for the tapes.

"Faith, we are going to be putting together some basic armor for you. May not have time to enchant it, but it'll be better than not having it, anyway. Just cooperate with 'em and they'll be quick. Do you have any preference as to color? We've found that mobility is more important than most anything else with slayers, so the style is pretty minimal. It kinda resembles motocross safety gear, if you're familiar. Kendra was wearing it last night, but if you didn't get a good look I wouldn't blame you. Busy night."

Faith looks confused. "Black I guess. Maybe camo? Tombstone gray? Is there a color better than others?"

Alex looks at her for a second and laughs. "Wow. Next you'll tell me you even want a helmet."

Faith again looks confused. "Yeah I want a helmet, I like my face like it is."

Kendra looks up at this "Ooh, yeah! Helm, can I get one as well?"

The slow smile slipping across her face belies the look of astonishment. "Yes. Yes you most certainly can, and Kendra, I'm sorry I didn't ask before. I offered one to Buffy and she turned me down because she was afraid of getting helmet hair."

Both girls look at her in absolute disbelief.

That night.

Jenny sits and looks at her young friend as she lays on the bed with her eyes shut. Diane is on the far side of the room with a notebook open and pen poised and ready. Ravage has stayed behind to keep an eye on the downstairs for them and DW is discretely following the two, now helm wearing, and both armored slayers as they conduct a quick patrol of the surrounding area. But Skite and his scouting mission is the current focus in the room.

Alex clears her throat. "Okay. I think I found it. Yeah, they have black paint on all the windows. Old glass though. When we try this, might be worth it to have Skite bust a bunch of them as part of it. The smoke won't kill the vamps anyway but the sunlight will and the airflow will help the fire. There is... Huh. There is an emergency fire water tower thingy on the roof. Guessing it is one of the old 'yank a chain' types. God the water in it must be nasty if there is any. But we'll need to either disable the system or drain the tank first."

Jenny speaks up. "Is there power to the building?"

Alex responds. "Following the wires now. It looks like they must have thought about doing something at some point, because the meter outside isn't fifty years old, it's a modern one. But it's freestanding, and then it feeds into the old one that is on the building. There's a lock on the modern one and a faded red tag on it. Looks like it's been there for years."

Jenny purses her lips. "The city must have recognized the fact it was a firetrap ages ago but couldn't get it torn down for historical reasons or fixed up for budgetary ones."

Diana Breaks in. "Highly likely, the local municipality has been cutting corners where they can for over a decade, since they started that highway bypass ridiculousness. The "Big Dig" I think the locals call it. Something like this would be well within their scope to pull at the moment."

Jenny nods. "This would have been their bandage to stop what we are planning from happening accidentally. We'll need to get down there, pop that lock, and push the breakers over before I put that box back on the grid to get this to work."

Diana speaks from behind Jenny. "Plus we need to stop them getting out through the storm drain. The maps we looked at earlier were pretty conclusive, I believe Faith was right."

Alex smiles, shaking her head even though her eyes stay shut. "That isn't really a problem. It hasn't rained in a week and the ten day forecast looks clear. I checked."

Diana looks confused. Jenny smirks. "She means there won't be any water down there. Let me guess, we are going to preempt the electrical firestorm with a few drums of gasoline or something similar spread around below them?"

Alex makes a decidedly unladylike snort. "Probably use gasoline and soap mix or something. Call up the Frog brothers and get a good recipe for poor man's napalm, they'd know. Huh. Well, that was easy."

Jenny shifts slightly. "What was easy?"

"Oh, I had Skite fiddle around with the maintenance release valve on the water tank. It's now draining off the side of the building, at a pretty quick trickle. Given the size of the tank it may take a while but since I am doubting they have the water turned on it won't be an issue after that. No other buildings close to it. There are garage doors, so we'll need to throw out some spike strips or park something big in front of the doors in case they try to drive out, but I think we have a workable plan. We plan on getting the details worked out tomorrow and enacting the plan say mid morning the day after?"

Ten Forty Five in the morning, the day after next, the crew watches as Kakistos, ancient grand master vampire, tries to get out of a limousine that has burst through garage doors and then plowed into a moving van that has been left parked there. While the warehouse burns behind him and as he screams in horror a crossbow bolt full of alchemists fire enters his right eye from somewhere across the street and the sun's bright and shining rays purify his body.

The last thing this powerful and evil creature hears as he desperately tries to fight the inexorable crumbling of his body is an excited and breathy young female voice say:

"Hey guys, I think I leveled!"

Authors note.

Okay, they won't quite be leaving Boston yet, but they are done with the big bad here anyway.

I know, some people would rather I just wrote the result rather than the planning. I do that sometimes too, but at times I truly believe it is the planning stages that are the more interesting. Writing about the execution is only interesting at that point if the plan didn't work. And this time it did.

Cause I said so.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Home sweet hell.

That night at a dinner of delivered pizza and soda, Diana smiles at her three guests as she regards them once again lounging around her dining room. "So, were you planning to stay for a bit to help with the clean up of some of Kakistos' operations? Or do you three need to be getting back home now?"

Jenny, Alex, and Kendra look at each other as if considering. When nobody says anything for a three count, Alex is the one to turn back to her. "Well, if they're okay with it I'd like to stay for a bit. I'll be honest, this trip has been ridiculously expensive and I need to get home and start making money again soon. But there are a few things I can put together for you on the cheap that should help a lot and that I can get done in say two to three weeks at the outside?"

Diana looks confused. "Two to three weeks is soon?"

Alex shrugs. "Enchanting stuff takes time. Our trip to Italy was a lot shorter than we thought it was going to be so overall we would only run over on our trip time a few days, maybe a week. But that would give me time to build a few tools we use on the hellmouth that you might like to have here. Things like the earpieces, the belt Buffy uses that can store twenty stakes in it and some vials of holy water and stuff for no weight or excessive mass. The shirt that lets her teleport once a day. Basic enchantments on the armor. I'm not going to have the time or money to get everything done right now, but I can get you hooked up as much as I can and then later on, say September or October, once I have a chance to make some money again, I can finish getting you kitted out. Also, since I am here anyway, if you have any requests for custom tailored clothing it is something I am pretty good at and I'll have a lot of time to kill. I can only make one magic item at a time and I can delegate that to red here." She nods to the red hard hat wearing dedicated wright who is sitting on her lap and cuddling her much as a child would. The other two are also draped around her in various ways. Alex still finds it a little disturbing how much emotion they seem to show, but since that emotion seems to be composed entirely of love and devotion it isn't something she feels she can, or even wants to complain about.

Faith looks a little interested. "Clothes? Like leather and stuff? Not bargain bin?"

Alex smiles. "Yeah. I even have some silk that is to die for. Might put together one of my clothing cleaning and repair doodads for you as well. With Buffy on the hellmouth and Kendra in hiding it seems likely that if there is stuff to deal with randomly in other parts of the world you'll get tapped for it. A couple of endless water jugs, endless ration bags and such. I can make some pretty spiffy magic sleeping bags that'll keep you warm, dry, and help you heal up. All this stuff is way cheap too, and it'd make your life if you end up on the road way more convenient."

Diana looks at her in astonishment. "Endless? Endless water and food for cheap? How?"

Alex sighs. "Magic? Look, the water jug is a basic doodad I put together for Buffy based on a magical mug that can fill itself with water three times a day. I just changed the container enchanted to a thermos that was the right shape to fit in her belt pouch. She puts some ice in it before patrol, puts it in the belt which puts it in stasis, and whenever she gets thirsty on patrol she pulls it out and three times a day it fills the rest of the way with twelve ounces of water. I have a version that'll make holy water too, but that one is stupid expensive and would take a week on it's own. It'll have to wait. The rations bag isn't really anything to write home about. It'll fill once a day with enough food to feed a normal person for a day, so a Slayer might need two of them. But it is pretty uninspired fare. Think dried fruit and nuts with a few strips of dried and salted meat to gnaw on. You wouldn't want to live on it long term, but as a way to deal with getting sent to demon infested places where you can't trust the food or water I figured it would be a good idea. Frankly though, if you think you are gonna be living on it for more than a couple of weeks I'd bring along a fairly stout multi-vitamin. Just saying."

Jenny sees the look of disbelieving awe on Dormers face and giggles. "The funny part is that she really doesn't get why this is so unbelievable. To her this is all basic, entry level stuff."

Alex rolls her eyes. "So, yeah. I work under some restrictions. No matter what, I can only make one item a day, so even though some of these might only take a couple of hours, once they're done I can't enchant anything else. I can still make normal, non-magical stuff though. Weapons and weapon enhancements take the longest. So, Faith, I can upgrade your sword. But if I do, a lot of this other stuff isn't going to happen. I'll let you and Diana stew over that once I am done explaining all the options available to you and the general time frames. Next, I am going to mention a budget, but don't worry about paying me back. Seriously, I can make money. You just caught me at the tail end of bunch of crap that sucked me dry financially. I am only gonna mention a budget so you know what I can and can't do for you right now. Lastly, before I leave, I am going to put together a pendant for each of you and then I am going to spell the crap out of it. The spell is called "Refuge." What it does is if you smash it while saying a code phrase given to you by the caster, it'll take you to their home. Direct to my living room, from anywhere on the planet, instantly. It's a get out of jail free card that I can put together for you. It isn't cheap and frankly its a tad intrusive, so unless it's an emergency I'd rather you didn't use it or at least called first. But if bad things happen and you need out, it'll be there."

Faith looks at Alex, her mouth quirking into a smile. "Intrusive?"

Alex shrugs. "I have a girlfriend. Sometimes there is kissing that happens on the couch. A call would be appreciated, but don't get yourselves killed trying to get to a phone."

Faith's smile broadens. "Just kissing?"

Alex offers a smirk. "Sorry Faith. Unless you can get it cleared with your guardian that you need access to my enhanced line of bedroom accessories, I really can't be delving any further into this." She then looks at Jenny before she continues to speak. "Let us know when she has had a chance to 'Judge' whether or not you are ready." With the extra emphasis on the word 'judge' Jenny immediately dissolves into giggles and Alex joins her.

The rest of the room looks at them as though they have lost their minds.

Three weeks and a small fortune later, Faith and Diana are saying goodbye to their new friends at the airport. After a round of hugs, Alex speaks once more to Diana. "Remember, if you are going to be coming through Sunnydale and can let me know ahead of time, give me a head's up. I can have some new toys ready for you. And no matter what, try to make it out for at least a weekend every year or something so I can get new measurements for Faith in case she isn't done growing yet."

Diana runs a hand over the large cross shaped charm she is wearing around her neck on a beautifully braided silk and leather wrap, the whole thing essentially acting as a choker that is covered in stylized crosses. "The pass code is "Alex Rocks" and we pluck the cross off the front?"

Alex nods. "Yeah. The thing is designed to be pretty tough, but enough pressure pulling it away from you will snap the supports holding it to the choker which will cause the thing to crumble apart. As long as you say the words at the same time, then hello hellmouth." Her lips quirk into a smirk. "But you have to really mean it, from the heart. 'Alex Rocks.'"

Faith laughs. "Really?"

Shaking her head while giggling, Alex merrily replies. "Sadly no. But I can hope that you do anyway."

Checking her watch, Jenny motions towards the line that is disappearing into the plane. "I think we need to go. Take care you two, and remember, if those bastards from the council try to send you after something that you think is too much, give us a ring and we'll see what we can do."

With that, the three get on the plane. Alex finds herself deeply envying Kendra, who is now discovering that at just under three feet tall and slender, airline seating is absolutely luxurious.

Sunnydale airport, 1AM August 2nd.

As they walked off the plane the three smiling faces that greet them immediately begin to look confused. Buffy because she wasn't expecting Alex and Jenny to be glaring at her Watcher or to have a child with them. Willow because she expected her girlfriend to be happier to see her, and why did they bring back a child? Giles because he had hoped against all hope that maybe by the time they had returned they might have forgotten about some of the stupidity his employers had engaged in and that he had involved them with, or failing that at least understood the importance enough for there to be some small measure of forgiveness. It would appear that this hope was entirely a waste of time.

Willow steps forward with her hands out to hold Alex, who does embrace her, but says nothing and continues to glare at Giles.

Jenny stops about ten feet from Giles. Looks him up and down, and when he clears his throat as though to begin speaking, she turns to Buffy quickly. "Any problems while we were gone?"

Buffy looks between the two and rolls her eyes a little. "Nothing serious. Glad to have you back though. Should I be hating Giles too right now? Did he do something to deserve all the hate forever?"

Jenny pauses as though considering, though that is entirely fictitious. Their plan was determined before they even got on the plane. "If you could get us home, we really could use some rest. Tomorrow being Friday the three of you as well as your family, Buffy, would be more than welcome to come by tomorrow evening for an evening of stories and explanations of what we have experienced for the last month and change. We will supply pizza and drinks."

Buffy nods, still looking confused as Giles is shaking his head. "I am uncertain that discussing everything you have been through would be in everyone's best interest. It is one of the things I was hoping to discuss with you this evening, Jenny. At my place, after we drop off Alex and your new little friend."

Jenny looks confused for a second. "What wouldn't you want to tell Buffy?" Then her eyes narrow. She reaches out and slaps Giles across the face hard enough to knock his glasses off, leaving him blinking, holding his hand over his cheek and staring at her in the same shock that everyone else there is. Thankfully the rest of the terminal had already cleared out, leaving them relatively alone as Giles tries to blink the red spots from his vision. "You didn't tell her. Was it your idea or the fucking Council's to keep her in the dark that Kendra died to save us? That the Tarakans got her? Why? Just tell me why they would want to dishonor a sacrifice like that."

Unseen by most, but noticed by Buffy, tears are streaming down the face of the child, who's face is twisted into a mask of sorrow and hate.

Walking the three steps and bending to replace his glaces on his face before he responds, Giles does finally turn back to Jenny. "The council at this point could not possibly care less. They seem to consider both currently active slayers as something just this side of outright rebels and they are getting unbelievably difficult to deal with even under the best of circumstances when I request information or assistance. My hope in this was to spare Joyce the worry and heartache that she can do nothing about.

But as the cat is now sufficiently out of the bag, you may all do as you wish. If you will follow me to my car, I can see about getting you home. Anything else I suppose can be covered tomorrow." He glances at the child curiously, remembering his talk with Dormer. But doesn't say anything at this time.

By noon the next morning, the three are all finally awake. Kendra is exploring the house some when she hears a call from the kitchen and bounces in at halfling size to see that Alex and Jenny are there. Frowning slightly, Kendra turns to Alex. "Where is Willow? I thought she stayed the night last night."

Alex nods. "She's in the shower. Look, I, we." She motions between herself and Jenny. "We need to know, absolutely and for sure, last chance, that you are okay with our friends here knowing who you are. After tonight, we lose the chance to scrub you off the board completely if you decide you wanna just retire and spend your days hanging out in the bounce house at the theme park or something."

Kendra nods. "Absolutely. Even if I did not owe you so much more than my life, what you do is good. It needs to be supported. You support slayers, and Jenny will ease you through the modern world while you do it, and I will see to it that pointy things never find either of you in the process. It is a perfect plan."

Alex nods. "Okay then. We'll do it. Just, be advised that once they all know, once Giles knows, the chances the council will figure something out do go up. Not that I think he would betray you on purpose. But the council have been decoding what watchers do and don't say in their reports for thousands of years, and they may even have other agents in town keeping an eye on things."

Jenny looks a little irritated. "You really think so?"

Alex nods. "Between me, you and the situation with the Kalderash as well as the connection with Giles, Buffy's supposed rebellion, and the fact that it is all happening on a hellmouth? Honestly I'd be shocked if they didn't have a couple of agents in town and a wet works team within whistling distance on standby. In LA maybe. I think I would almost lose respect for them if they didn't."

"Lose respect for who?" Comes the call from the hallway, as Willow pads down on bare feet in a pair of shorts and a tank top.

Alex gets up and instead of answering wraps her arms around her and covers her mouth with a searing kiss that lasts until the redheads eyes slowly close and her arms reach around as well.

Jenny giggles. "Hey now, child in the room!"

The two release their kiss and there is a sigh of contentment from Willow. "I am so glad you're back."

Alex grins. "You said that last night."

Willow nods. "You haven't ruined it yet. I give it another couple of hours."

There is laughter around the table at that. "Well, I'll see if I can meet the expectation then. But first. I need to introduce you to someone very special." She turns to the halfling. Willow is already bending at the waist to be less intimidating to the supposed child. Alex continues. "Willow, this is Kendra. Kendra, this is Willow."

Willow freezes. Literally does not move, as though she is made of stone. Then very slowly she turns her head toward Alex and whispers. "Reincarnation?"

Alex nods. "Best I could do. The thing that killed her didn't leave much behind. Did the spell, got a halfling. Gave her the choice and she decided not to go back to the council, go figure. We are going to tell everybody tonight, but since you'll be spending the day with us we figured you might want to know now."

Kendra, who has been smiling hugely this entire time, wraps her arms around Willow's neck and jumps to wrap her legs around her body when Willow straightens up in surprise. "I had a dad, but he got me killed. Right now I have a mom and a grandmother, but I would accept a second mum if you want the job." Then she gives Willow a kiss on the end of her nose and drops to the floor giggling like a insane person. Willow collapses into gales of laughter at the absurdity of it all.

Alex sighs. "It doesn't actually say in the spell description that if your new race closely resembles the juvenile form of your original one and you were denied much of a childhood the first time around the results can be ridiculous. Maybe I should update my copy."

Kendra responds with a stern look that lasts about three seconds before she once again devolves into laughter.

Jenny looks around the room. "So when exactly are people suppose to be getting here?"

Alex looks at the clock on the wall, though she couldn't tell you why. Knowing what time it is now doesn't actually help answer the question at all. "Arrival anytime after seven, story time at seven thirty. We should probably get to the store."

That night at nine O'clock, Giles once again finds himself picking his glasses up off the floor while trying to rub the stinging sensation out of his face and avoid the follow up slap from Joyce.

"If you ever keep anything from me that could involve the death of ANY of these children again you won't live long enough for a vampire to kill you, do you hear me!? Do you, you piece of crap!?"

Author's note.

Awwww... Poor Giles. Don't worry, I won't stretch out his penance too long. In reality he had decent to good reasons for most of what he did. But he tried to hide sending Alex into a life or death situation that killed another slayer. Doing it could maybe be forgiven. But hiding it? Joyce wasn't gonna have any of that shit.


End file.
